


Fatal Charm

by banana_chocolate97, miya_sugar_star



Series: Fatal [ReitaxAoi] [1]
Category: the GazettE
Genre: Alcohols, Alternate Universe - High School, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Beaches, Blow Job, Classroom, Crack, Drama, Field Trip, Foot groping, Friends With Benefits, High School, M/M, Party, Romance, Rough Sex, Senior year, Slice of Life, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-25 17:32:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 65,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6204427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banana_chocolate97/pseuds/banana_chocolate97, https://archiveofourown.org/users/miya_sugar_star/pseuds/miya_sugar_star
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruki used to love Aoi.<br/>And Aoi used to love Ruki.<br/>Reita fucks Aoi.<br/>And Kai does the same to Ruki.</p><p>Problem is, Reita's craving a tiny, tiny bit more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author Miya: This is the sequel to [Help](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5980045)
> 
> I RP as/write for Reita's part, while Nana RP as/writes for Aoi's part :)
> 
> The cover's done by Nana x) <3 and also the preface :) 
> 
> Read the [PREFACE HERE](https://www.wattpad.com/229681955-fatal-charm-boyxboy-preface%20)

 

 

 

Taking a long smooth breath, Reita let it all out with closed eyes and relaxed shoulders, cracked his knuckles and placed a few papers of numerous challenging math questions he'd just finished filling in under a thick book close to the edge of his desk.

 

But that was only one work. He'd taken approximately a quarter of an hour in total to finish it all, plus ten minutes of additional exercises which he'd found in the reference book, a fuel to add to the growing heat in his daring brain.

 

In the calming silence he was basking in, the blonde leaned back in his seat, picked up his bag from the floor and took out several new worksheets of another subject he was going to work on for the afternoon, and it was the last one. Ah, good, he couldn't wait to get back home soon after.

 

Too immersed in his own closed world, he didn't realize how the time passed as he leaned close to the work, almost looking like he was about to bury his whole face in it, his hand continuously moving the  mechanical pencil across any available white spaces to jot down the detailed notes he could still remember from the previous lessons, all while trying to relate to the questions and working on highly satisfying, accurate and A+ worth answers.

 

He pushed himself off the desk a bit after, pinching and massaging the bridge of his nose after taking off his half-framed glasses. No matter how much he loved doing homework, the passion still couldn't chase away the mild, annoying pain his eyes were facing now, wearing these old glasses, ever since Aoi broke the latest ones. Damn, he wondered when he could buy a pair of new ones though. Saving up was what he was doing, but then again it was time consuming.

 

Placing the glasses back on and shoving them up and through his blonde bangs backwards, Reita tapped the screen of his phone lightly, checked the time displayed and thought to himself that Kai must have been in the student council room now, spending time with Ruki, which was a great thing. He could still remember how Kai had been breathlessly telling him non stop yesterday about how cool and all their small president was, for almost _an hour_ so Reita had almost thought the brunette—

 

Okay, he was going to continue finishing up his homework now.

 

But he couldn't help but glance back at the time on the phone screen, wondering and wondering if the raven was going to come in here or not...

 

But God, why must it happen that time?

 

Three weeks ago, Reita had always thought the afternoons would belong to him, just for him and his  homework, here in this class. Until the moment Aoi had started to strike a conversation with him, when all the raven had done beforehand was treating him like... well, a total nerd. Not as the amazing school representative who had brought the team to win the national math competition, just, well—

 

Talking about Aoi here.

 

Nonetheless, of course that one thing had led to another.

 

A fatal mistake.

 

°°°  
°°°

 

The raven was just strolling down the hallway, towards one particular classroom – wasn't it his own? – that he found himself visiting a lot more frequently than back then, with "back then" meaning when his and Ruki's relationship was still... well, on-going. It wasn't as if they just stopped being boyfriends but with Ruki all busy as the student council's president, Aoi was getting a little neglected and had to find another way to fight off his boredom. And it so happened that Mister blonde-math-genius seemed to be absolutely perfect for that.

 

Chuckling to himself, Aoi ran a hand through his black hair. He also ran it over his face and it made him wince just a little when his fingertips grazed the very mild bruise on his cheek. He tsked at the thought of that Kai-guy intervening in things he didn't have anything to do with. God, he was annoying. Agh, he should've punched back.

 

He rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smirk when he thought of how Reita would be more than just a help after the argument between him and Kai. Aoi didn't really feel any kind of guilt to be honest, it wasn't like it was his fault, it was Ruki's. If the little midget hadn't started to neglect him since that day on, Aoi never would've had to turn towards... _other_ afternoon activities.

 

He shook his head with a soft laugh once he arrived in front of the classroom and laid eyes upon his affair. Damn, he could've sworn to see smoke ascending from Reita's head. Where was his face anyway? Buried so deep in his books, naturally. Ah well, he was soon going to bury _something else._

 

"Rei-chan!" Aoi exclaimed loudly once he'd opened the sliding door, vociferously so in order to really disturb the other's concentration. "Rei-chaaaan," he sung, stalking over and sitting down on the teacher's desk right in front of Reita's. "Ne, you've been waiting for me, haven't you?" he said, dangling his legs against the wood. Ugh, wasn't he going to say anything?

 

"Well I'm here now so you can gladly put math aside for a while, huh?"

 

Still no reaction and it had Aoi knitting his brows. Damn that fucking math, wasn't he way more interesting??

 

It was with a frustrated groan that he slumped down on the desk, sending several folders and pens and pencils flying to the floor, his arms splayed out on either side of his head on the table. His shirt was sliding up slightly so a little bit of his teasingly flat belly and the piercing was revealed.

 

"Rei-channnn!"

 

Reita would've dropped his face in his hands and sighed ever so loudly if it wasn't for the little distracting display in front of his eyes, behind those cold framed glasses. Though, the way Aoi calling his name with such a shrilling, out-of-character voice creased his eyebrows. Gah, damn, was he trying to give Reita a headache to his already throbbing head? Because it seemed like it, and it would go on forever if no one was going to stop him, and the blonde would just have to do it.

 

"What is it?" Reita finally let out a low groan, his way of responding after sending a darkened glare, one hand clenching the end of his shirt. However, his attention was partly focused on the fallen lifeless things scattered on the floor, that had been mindlessly pushed off the desk by Aoi. God knew how Reita would have actually reacted if it was his neatly and properly arranged books and papers that became the raven's victim.

 

"I have homework to do, Aoi."

 

Couldn't he just leave Reita alone? Fuck, now Reita was regretting for not being able to finish his damn work faster than he should have.

 

Aoi groaned in response, annoyance clearly audible in his tone of voice. How far was he supposed to go? Normally, he wouldn't dare to even touch the blonde's papers and notebooks, knowing that Reita would be getting rather... angry. Bad thing was though, Aoi liked angry Reita and he liked it _a lot._

 

He huffed and jumped off the teacher's desk. This situation was screaming for him to show some initiative.

 

Aoi plastered the most sugar sweet smile on his lips that he had in his repertoire as he pushed at Reita's shoulders to make him lean back in his seat.

 

"I know," he twittered happily and swiftly swung one of his legs over the other's lap, straddling him in the process before sitting on it completely.

 

"But I'm here now," he continued and placed his hands on Reita's shoulders again, smirk still evident and oh he _knew_ , what kind of effect it had. He wanted Reita angry. Angry Reita was sexy. "So what about you do _me_ instead?"

 

Lifting an eyebrow and biting his lip at the same time, Aoi gave the blonde a challenging look. 'Come on,' he thought, 'come on, I know you want it.'

 

Reita tried to maintain his slightly wide surprised eyes as impassive as possible, but the slightest feel of his tight throat swallowing the hard lump down sort of ruined his attempt, his body stiffening at the direct contact. In the silence that followed after, he let his hands fall to his sides, although their were aching to just grab the soft thighs and gnaw them tightly with a choking grip until the raven was nothing but a loud moaning mess before him.

 

Giving a quirk of his lip as he tipped his head backwards and furrowed his eyebrows, Reita let out a bitter chuckle.

 

"What makes you think I want to do it with you? Tsch, how about you go to your poor little boyfriend who's been working his ass off for the sake of our school instead? And you fucking dared touching Kai right in front of him and—"

 

The blonde stopped, caught off guard as he damn near spilled the last word and with the way his voice unintentionally rose, he hadn't actually realized how his writhing heart had been skipping a few beats already, but once he did, his chest was already heaving, mind burning to conflict his already hurting head.

 

"Leave," he turned his head away as he ordered quite sternly, arms moving upwards to cross over his chest.

 

The raven blinked at him, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth before releasing it again so he was able to show a full-blown pout that just had to be one of his sexiest pouts ever.

 

"Naaawh, Rei-chan, are you jealous?" he snickered and couldn't stop himself from grinning.

 

Hands roaming down to caress over the other's chest which was, by the way, way more muscular than you'd think, Aoi rolled his hips slightly down on Reita's, teeth biting down on his lip once more.

 

"Come on, you know I want you. Ruki's been neglecting me all the damn time and his ass is no fun anymore. Besides..."

 

He was now running a single finger down Reita's chest, hooking it into the tiny hole between two of his school uniform's buttons and tugging at it.

 

"You've been giving me everything I want and need so why would I want anyone else? Let alone that Kai-guy, pff. That was just a tease," he shrugged. "You know how I am."

 

But to be honest, Aoi really didn't want to risk Reita pushing him away which was one of the rare negative side effects of being fuck buddies with a math nerd, so he reached for the blonde's hands and placed them on his thighs. He knew Reita couldn't resist them, or him in general, he was always touching him everywhere whenever they were about to fuck so this _had_ to work.

 

"Come on Rei-chan. Don't leave me hanging," he pouted at him again but wasn't quite able to dispel the smirk from his lips.

 

Sitting still in his seat, Reita squared his jaw and let out a deep burning breath as he continued scowling at Aoi, into those gleaming, dark eyes.

 

Ugh, fuck—

_Fucking slut._

 

The blonde suddenly reached out and yanked the metal clasp of Aoi's belt into his clenching hand and with little effort, he swiftly lifted the ravenhead's bottom off his lap, throwing him over his strong shoulder and then slammed him down on the teacher's desk, quite harshly out of non verbal scorching rage, within seconds.  


A surprised huff escaped the raven's throat and he groaned lowly once his back made a very uncomfortable acquaintance with the teacher's desk. His chest had begun heaving within seconds, arms splayed out on either side of his head and lips parted with labored breaths as he laid eyes on Reita's face.

 

A satisfied smirk spread on Aoi's lips. Oh yes, that was exactly how he liked him. With the raven's legs parted and Reita himself settling in between them and one hand (which was still holding onto the metal), Reita roughly anchored Aoi's groin against his lifted, clothed knee which had been placed on the edge of the wooden surface, pressing it against the hardening bulge which was already growing visibly under the dark pants.

 

Oh no, Reita didn't like it one bit, never did; him being some kind of possesion to Aoi.

 

Going to be used again.

 

Why couldn't Aoi just—

 

Fucking leave him?

 

Just because Reita fucked him good?

_Fucking slut._

 

It seemed like there was never a way for Reita to keep Aoi off his mind for days – or weeks? - ever since their first sex.

 

"Your dirty little ass is just begging to be raped by my cock that much, isn't it?"

 

Leaning over Aoi who was laying beneath him, Reita narrowed his eyes behind his glasses and rubbed his knee against the heated, entraped cock with a great amount of pressure, almost groaning as he bit his lip at the way the produced friction sent pleasured electrifying waves through all his nerve endings, jacking his adrenaline to leave him feeling quite light headed after all the hours spent working.

 

Then again, Reita was also thankful Aoi had come to the classroom, had always been. A new physical challenge, Aoi was, undescribable and definitely not similar to all those math questions. And Aoi was something he could put his aching hold on whenever and however he wanted, unlike those that were just written and printed and all lifeless, boring at times, not enough to him. And the raven always had his own way to pique his interest, dragging him away from his usual nerd shell.

 

Aoi was the problem Reita couldn't find a solution for.

 

"Of course it is," Aoi cooed up at him, lifting a hand to remove those glasses from the other's face. They were only going to get in their way anyway. He threw them aside to the floor, knowing they wouldn't break but he'd probably left another scratch in them. Not that he cared.

 

Aoi bit his lower lip, just the way he knew Reita liked it before pushing himself up to prop on his elbows. "You should come out of that nut shell much more often, Rei-chan. You're so fucking hot like this."

 

And in no time, Aoi's hand shot up, grasping Reita's tie and wrapping it around his wrist before literally yanking him down, simultaneously leaning up even more and crashing their lips together. He felt himself growing harder and harder, unable to stop himself from rubbing his crotch against that teasing knee before he was able to shift enough in order to wrap both of his legs around the other student's hips.

 

"Mmn," he moaned lowly against the lips he was ravishing, "You just know how to _get_ me, don't you, Rei-chan?"

 

He knew it was quite risky, with Reita being like this but Aoi dared to part his lips, demandingly so and poking his tongue out to meet the other's only briefly, teasingly while his hips continued to move, his grip on Reita's tie so tight it seemed like a miracle that he didn't just tear it away from the other's neck.

 

As a possessive response, a low and deep growl worked its way out of Reita's throat and against the raven's lips, angling his head aside a bit just so he could take Aoi's already heated, rosy mouth like he was the fucking sole owner, even deeper to trace against that little space with his eagerly gliding tongue.

 

Still keeping up with the frenzied kiss, he leaned in closer, since he didn't have any more room to make another move with the tie enclosing around Aoi's defined wrist, and practically grinded himself against Aoi, choking a wet stream of groans as their hardening clothed arousals rubbed roughly against one another and he thought he was already fucking leaking because of this.

 

Fuck - as his arms bent, hooked and held themselves around the surprisingly fleshy thighs, his fingers reached down and tightened into the raven's rear to keep him in place.

 

One hand pulled away and traveled up to hold Aoi's wrapped wrist, moving his whole arm to encircle around Reita's neck, and he groaned in pleasure once the result of the action brought himself to press against the raven in full contact, his tongue inside Aoi's mouth lapping whichever space it desired; between the sets of the parting teeth, under and above the other's wet tiny muscle, to the back of his throat. And by the time it almost reached that tight opening, Reita's rough hand already slipped inside Aoi's white uniform that had been shoved up his chest.

 

Reita finally took a step to break the hungry kiss, not wasting time to let his ragged breathing slobber its messy way all along the raven's thin jawline and down his heaving throat along with open mouthed kisses, finding the quickening pulse against his lips, nipping and licking at it, his blunt thumb finding the dark brown nipple only to dig his nail into the skin, liking how the tip twitched against his rough-skinned pad as he rubbed and pinched, tugged at it.  
Then he moved on to the other, repeating the exact treatment.

 

"Where did you throw my glasses, huh, Aoi?"

Reita suddenly growled in frustration, grazing his sharp teeth against the already red flush skin underneath the coarse surface and unbuckling the metal fastener of Aoi's belt.

 

"I don't have anymore of them to wear if you _fucking_ broke them."

 

With unsteadied breathing, he straightened himself a bit as his hand pulled the dark belt off Aoi's pants, almost lashing the thing sideways once it was taken out completely in a swift motion. But as he tried to move away to get a bottle of lube from his bag, he suddenly froze entirely at where he was currently standing.

 

“Son of a bitch,” Reita spat, and was now staring down at his lifted foot, and right under it, there lay a pair of broken glasses, almost split in two and facing upwards with no bits of life, the already smudgy lenses shattered wholy. By the time he brought his hardened eyes to lock gazes with Aoi, he tried to maintain his composure as he hissed lowly, “Any last word before I fuck you senseless?”

°°°  
°°°

The blonde's force was bruising and Aoi knew that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

 

God, he was such a slut when it came to bottoming. And he didn't just bottom for anyone, _okay_? Reita knew how _fucking special_ he was.

 

Well, Reita wasn't only quite hot at the moment, he was also pretty damn livid now that his glasses did turn out to be broken. Very much broken.

 

Aoi suppressed a giggle, and instead bit his lower lip hard in order to hold himself back from giving unnecessary comments. The only thing his lips formed was, again, one of his beautiful pouts as he shook his head and hopped off the table to finally get rid of those annoying pants.

 

In fact, he undressed almost entirely, with the only thing left being the tie dangling around his neck. Mm, he knew Reita liked seeing him like this. And Aoi was clearly enjoying the animalistic glances Reita was throwing at him, too.

 

With a lick to his lip, the now more or less naked raven settled back on the teacher's desk and it was the thought of the poor teacher who was inevitably going to find their stains tomorrow morning that forced his throat to free the giggle he hadn't wanted to let out.

 

The cool wood felt rather nice beneath his bare buttocks but it was of no help concerning the mere heat rushing through Aoi's body, his length fully erect, standing proud against his abdomen and the milky flesh of his thighs burning with Reita's tight grip from just a few moments ago. Fuck, it felt nice, it'd been too long.

_Duh, it had been barely five days since their last encounter._

 

"No," Aoi finally spoke, his voice now reaching that very special tone, rather soft but also low enough to sound like a tease, the perfect mixture for someone submissive - or someone who was at least pretending to be, like Aoi.

 

They had reached the point were words and orders became something they didn't need anymore, not even Mr. Dominant and Aoi could feel his entire body prickling and vibrating with rising anticipation once he lay back down.

 

A soft sigh escaped his lips as soon as his back made contact with the chilly wood, his dark eyes focused on Reita who was still staring at him, unmoving. What, did the shock about another pair of broken glasses go that deep? Or was it rather that Reita looked like he was already devouring him, _eye-fucking_ him and that was why he didn't move?

 

Aoi snickered, lifting his legs so he could prop his heels on the edge of the table, knowing- oh yes, _knowing_ how nice his ass had to look like this.

 

"Come on, Rei-chan. Don't keep me waiting," he murmured loud enough for the other to hear.

 

Of course Reita just couldn't take his smouldering, frozen eyes off the tight pinkette hole between the globes of the raven's ass and the rest of the vulnerable skin, not when Aoi was in that kind of irresistable, erotic position with nothing but his dark colored neck tie against the pale complexion of his throat.

 

Hell, why was Aoi doing this to him?

 

The blond roughed a hand over his face and down to his jaw, almost as if he could hear the wires inside of his head snapping off with sizzling chaotic noises numbing his head, and he almost couldn't catch what Aoi had just said with that voice.

 

Fuck, he was taking his time.

 

Grunting deep in his chest, he rushed to dip one hand in his bag with an almost uncontrolled patience before it finally closed around the wanted item. He gripped and squeezed the bottle so hard the lube would've drenched his whole hand if not for the still unpopped lid.

 

"Were you away fucking Ruki, Aoi?" Reita regrettably asked, more like stating – and why the fuck he did that _godfuckingdammit_ -

 

After setting the bottle aside on the desk, he unbelted his pants and opened them, almost having his breath caught the second his slightly soiled, heavy length was no longer trapped under the restraints.

 

Lips tight and flicking a dark gaze down at the raven, he placed his veined hands over the lifted knees and slid down smoothly over the plush hips, after he'd roughly pushed the thighs apart from the inner sides. Reita wrapped them loosely around his waist, using the same callouses to brush over the defined hip bones to the soft dip of the stomach.

 

Without a word, the blonde instantly lubed up his fingers and leaned over the raven then, only to let his obscure eyes stare long at the tie – it would've worked as a nice choker - before he let one unslicked hand grasp and pull at it, claiming Aoi's lips the moment three wet fingers eagerly invaded the first hot inches, groaning aloud.

 

"Uh- Nnh! Mnnh!" Aoi groaned, the feral sound of both pain and pleasure spilling straight into Reita's mouth. _Fucking bastard, using three fingers at once._ Aoi's eyes were squeezed shut tightly, his lips pressing against Reita's with such force he was afraid they were going to start bleeding anytime soon.

 

An almost unbareable feeling of heat was rushing through his body as his thighs began to quiver, the rude stretching of his muscles by those fingers way too much to take but it wasn't as if he really cared. Reita didn't either.

 

Keeping his head up for the kiss was hard, a stinging pain settling at the back of his neck but _oh_ , it was worth it. The raven didn't hesitate for a second to part his lips, cheekily demanding for Reita's tongue and moaning once he got it, moaning like the _slut_ he was. For him.

 

"Mmn... mm!"

 

His hips began to move, writhing and squirming from side to side, inner walls resisting the brutal intrusion but at the same time taking it in, their last time hadn't been long ago so it actually seemed way easier than it'd been during the first time they'd had sex.

 

Aoi pushed himself up, awkwardly trying to do so at least for a few minutes before succeeding and then propping himself on one hand, his lips and tongue still moving against Reita's who returned their sloppy mess of a kiss just as passionately, fingers working their way in and out of him and compelling Aoi's hips to roll upwards, bucking impatiently.

 

There are certainly some things that can't be messed with nerds.

 

That people seriously need to consider, but barely do.

 

Nerds _love_ challenges.

 

And the same nerds will show them how dare they exist as challenges in the first place.

 

Releasing the neck tie so Aoi's head would tilt back, Reita pulled away from the other's lips with a loud gasp, sliding his own to the raven's exposed throat and all the wet way down to the hollow of the collarbone, to the chest, to the spasming stomach, paused for a while as he swirled his tongue around the silver piercing, and parted his mouth with breathless contented groans once he felt one of the tips of his blunt fingers prod against the raven's prostate repeatedly, jerking the naked male underneath him as he crooked his callouses inside the lubed worked muscles.

 

Reita quickly straightened back slightly, already retracting his fingers out, his lips working on marking slicked trails up along one of Aoi's quivering, smooth thighs, groaning and suctioning a patch of sensitive skin hard until it bruised, but he didn't stop there yet, not now with rough fingers rubbing the soft firm sole of Aoi's foot, saliva-covered tongue sliding out to tease the toes, over the black painted nails, all the while holding the raven's gaze and pinning him down with his fierce and hungry burning eyes.

 

Popping some knuckles, Reita lifted Aoi's legs to place them over his arms and up to his strong shoulders, hurriedly angling his engorged leaking cockhead against the stretched hole before he growled at the first rings enveloping his cock as he pushed in.

 

"Ungh—fuck, Aoi!"

 

"Haah- "

 

A vociferous gasp for breath-

 

"Nnh- "

 

Teeth gritting and the muscles of his thighs tensing instantly-

 

"Aagh!"

 

Then finally the relieved moan when Aoi fell back on the desk's surface, back arched and arms splayed out, fingers blindly searching for hold but finding none other than his own hair, tearing at the black strands while moan after moan spilled from his lips.

 

Fuck, was he even bigger now? The satisfying feeling of his tight heat being filled up sent an intoxicating spark of pure bliss down the raven's spine, his chest heaving with the effort of keeping his breathing regular. At least for now, he knew it wasn't going to stay like this for long.

 

"Uughn... R-Rei-! Nnh- aagh!"

 

His teeth were still lightly gritted, intakes of breath disrupting his groans. God, it felt good. God, it _really_ felt good. But all of it went _a little_ too slow for Aoi's taste, Reita was teasing, _definitely_ , using short thrusts to invade his body, not the usual, just slamming straight into him. Fucking bastard.

 

"Rei, please, mmnn...," he whined, eyes only half-lidded as he looked up at the blonde, getting so much more turned on just by settling his eyes upon the muscles and Reita's own, pleasured countenance. God damn it, he was really forcing him to beg today, wasn't he?

 

Oh yeah, and Reita _loved_ this so freaking much.

 

Why the fuck not anyway?

 

A sadistic laugh rumbled from the blonde's chest, one eyebrow covered by messy, bleached bangs was lifted, matching with the sly grin that was spreading his lips. "What?" He could feel the quake through the pale athletic legs over his shoulders, his arms tightening around them and body leaning over even more to press the raven's thighs against their owner's sweat glistening hammered chest.

 

"Mmmn, when you were fucking Ruki, was he as tight as you are now?"

 

Making sure the trembling legs were settled firmly over the curves of his shoulders, Reita dropped his hands to clamp and tighten into the edges of the teacher's desk strongly, its legs screeching loudly by the time he gradually built up his pace, driving into the tight little hole with his cock, slicking it with the lube lining the inner walls.

 

"Hmm? Oh, you just can't answer it, can you?"

 

Slowing back down out suddenly, giving slow but hard thrusts with rocking hips, Reita let out an exasperated sigh as he turned his head away, looking around to pretend he was looking at something way more interesting in the warm classroom, though there was none other than the raven himself and he pretty much actually just wanted to fuck Aoi _boneless_ , turn him into more than the whiny desperate, fucking slut he was now.

 

"Just like you can't when it comes to math homework. Or, do you want me to help you answer it?"

 

Trying to steady his breath just so he could squeeze out his words smoothly, he flicked his gaze back at the so out-of-breath raven, tracing the black silky locks flattening around his head and against the contrasting white surface, the slim frame shaking as it tried to bear with the pulsing cock inside.

 

"I wonder if you're tight in the other side as well?"

 

The raven-haired, sweating mess in front of him didn't reply at first, his chest heaving to such an extent it was almost impossible for him to actually speak. But where no words were spilled, Aoi's whines soon reached his ears.

 

Thanks to how his legs were draped over Reita's shoulders, Aoi was nowhere near able to lean up although he was craving for it, wanting to scratch his painted nails down those abs, wanting to make the blonde hiss and growl above him again. But instead of doing just that, Aoi's arms felt limp when he lifted them, his cheek painted pink with how flushed they were and his slender fingers barely capable of reaching Reita's chest.

 

"Hhaa... Nnh, Rei... please don't-... d-don't stop, don't-... please!" he mewled, hot tears of lust pricking at the corners of his eyes and he wasn't quite sure whether it was helpful or not but either way, he contracted his muscles around the leaking cock inside him as hard as possible. "Please! M-Move!"

 

 

His lips were quivering too, his entire body just made him appear so fucking desperate for cock- well, he had the cock, right, but he needed it to move, god damn it! The rolling motion of his hips seemed just as weak as his plea did, his eyelids fluttering but he could feel precum dribbling down his own length and onto his belly, and _fucking God_ , he needed it.

 

"Rei, please! I can't... You know I can't take it!"

 

To prevent himself from smirking too obviously and groaning at the way the sizzling muscles tightened around his cock, Reita bit the corner of his lips as the dark pupils of his dilated, all the while watching the raven's facial features scrunch up.

 

Shit, this was killing him. Aoi's shameless whines really did the trick on him.

 

Fine enough.

 

Bringing his hands upwards, he peeled the legs off his shoulders before sliding them down to wrap around his waist, doing the same thing to the raven's slim weakening arms, only to have them curving around his neck afterwards. Then he dug his fingers into those sinful hips, lifting them off the desk a bit and jerking Aoi against his cock roughly before he swayed his hips forward to meet with force.

 

Keeping up a steady pace and leaning his face over Aoi's, he pressed his lips against the parted ones, eating at the breathless sounds the naked, flushed male made while at the same time feeding his guttural groans into the hungry kiss, and god damn it, Aoi was breathtakingly taking more of him, shockingly clasping his inner walls so tightly it made Reita wheeze, his eyebrows meeting to slam against one another and he groaned as he buried his face in Aoi's shoulder.

 

The raven's fingernails were digging into his shoulder blades and he moaned and writhed with all he had. With his legs wrapped tightly around Reita's waist, he pressed himself as close as possible and fuck, _fuck_ , Aoi lived for this. One hand moving up, his fingers took a firm grasp of strands at the blonde's nape, tearing at them with lustful groans and whines.

 

"Uuhn, Rei, fuck please, fuck me...!"

 

His voice was a breathless mess by now, hitting the other's neck where he'd begun biting and kissing after pulling Reita's head back by the hair. He locked his ankles on Reita's lower back, pushing him even further and clinging to him like a second skin, needy and hell no, _nowhere_ near satisfied. While his eyes were screwed shut, his lips were the entire opposite; parted almost lewdly with more and more encouraging words falling from them while the delicious feeling of _in-and-out, in-and-out, in-and-out_ kept dazing and robbing him off his senses.

 

Cursing and with a fierce grunt against the skin his hungry lips were attached to, Reita reached around and clamped a hand around the crossed ankles before lifting them a bit higher and digging the heels into his back, pushing the raven's quaking legs up around his waist and easing himself more between them, before driving his cock insanely into the screaming male, shaking the desk underneath them with every timed rough and merciless thrust.

 

Something suddenly drew his attention—though he didn't slow down even a bit— in the heated moment of moans and gasps, he lifted his head, trying to find the infuriating source until he finally grasped notice of a song coming from a phone somewhere close in the classroom.

 

Aoi's phone.

 

It must be Ruki, huh?

 

Of course it must be him.

 

"Want me to pick it up?"

_And let him hear the slut himself._

 

'Oh yeah, please,' Reita thought, and made a downright decision to push himself away from both the desk and Aoi, pulling out from the drenched hole that now wrung painfully around an empty ache. Bending down to take the raven's phone out from where the dark pants were lying next to the desk on the ground, he finally settled the device in his sweaty hand and stared at the caller ID for confirmation with a sour look, but before he could swipe his thumb across the screen, the call was ended, screen then returning to home.

 

Shit. Fucking shit.

 

"Too bad," fuming aggravation crumpled Reita's pale facial features, him swiftly tossing the device over the surface of his own desk, carelessly until it slid close to the threatening edge. "I'd pretty much love to let him know and hear how slutty loud you are, being my bitch."

 

He loosed a sigh, next time then. Or should he call Ruki? Or should he just continue fucking the raven?

 

"Ah, right. Sorry."

 

He grasped Aoi's slim arms, lifting him off the desk before he quickly guided the other to turn around and the moment the raven's front body planted right into the sweat-sticky surface, front thighs pressed against the side of the leg, Reita finally breathed with a smooth voice as he aligned his cock back against the inviting and aching entrace, thumbs curving the quivering ass cheeks outwards.

 

"Ever wished to see your own hole? You must have. Ah, just look at how hot it is, mmm and it also looks that erotic, that hungry."

 

And then he shoved himself into Aoi deep-balls in one go, growling with loud sounds vibrating in his chest that left him snarling in pleasure, drilling deeper than earlier.

 

"Ungh! Fuck yes!"

 

"Aah! Aah-haah!"

 

Aoi's wheezed moan echoed through the classroom, every penetrating pound rocking his body and shoving his groin against the edge of the teacher's desk. Fuck, that hurt but at the same time, Reita's sounds, the ruthless pulling and pushing and the possessive grip on his hips made up for it ten times.

_Heat_ , burning, blazing heat began pooling at the core of his stomach and he couldn't help but voice it out loud, encouraging his lover - because that was what Aoi liked to call him _secretly_ \- with louder groans. As he tried to push himself up on one hand, not knowing whether Reita was going to allow it or not, Aoi mewled with relish, barely able to keep his body stable.

 

"Aah, aah, uuhn, Rei, please- I can't-," he gasped the words out, desperately trying to sneak his free hand between the table and his legs, his leaking, rock-hard length begging for attention.

 

His palm was sweaty, making it incredibly difficult to find a grip on the wooden surface but he needed his release now and he was yelping and screaming and begging for all it was worth.

 

"Uuhn, uuhn, R-Reita, fuck, come on! Come on!" he demanded, sounding quite snappy admittedly but to hell with it.

 

It seemed like every single one of Reita's thrust was so, _so_ close to finishing him off, Aoi felt it, so close to the edge but he knew that Reita was in control of when he came, he'd always been.

 

"F-fuck, unghh you're seriously driving me crazy, slut."

 

And he knew he was doing the same thing to the writhing male underneath him.

 

"And you're such a good fuck, always have been, hmmm _Aoi_..."

 

Hissing breathlessly, Reita dipped his head and let his fingers tangle and lock in the night hair, twisting and pulling it tight until the raven's head tilted to the side and the blonde's teeth were able to reach close and nip at a tender earlobe, before tugging and licking at a few silver ear piercings until the trapped skin turned red and wet, giving the same treatment to the unmarked flesh along the stiffening, curvy side of throat and down to his shoulder.

 

He slid a hand between his rippling abs and Aoi's sweat-glistening lower back, roughening and bowing the trembling spine with a pressure applied upon it until the raven arched to take more of his working cock in, spreading the dirtied ass cheeks and the abused walls clasping around it wider, him pumping against the backside hard and rough, and they were practically rocking themselves against the damn poor desk. Shit, Aoi was really already damn near to coming, and he was too actually, if he was ever going to admit.

 

Pausing for a moment, Reita struggled to fight off the defeaning heart beat filling his ears and reached out for the teacher's chair, yanking it out a bit by the arm until the ends of the legs left dark trails on the floor.

 

Moving himself towards it and Aoi as well with a bruising grip digging into the raven's hips to bring him back to his shaking legs, he noticed that Aoi was standing on barely functioning feet.

 

The blonde quickly settled himself on the chair and cursed with a loud growl by the time Aoi's weight fell upon his cock and swallowed the organ back inside entirely, the raven now sitting on his lap, but with his heated back turned to him, ready to be covered in teeth marks.

 

"You really want to cum, huh?"

 

Reita didn't remember when he had retrieved either his or Aoi's belt, but the only thing he really knew next was that he used it to bind the thin wrists behind the slim lower back. Because oh no, _no_ , Reita wouldn't let Aoi touch himself.

 

"I'll continue to fuck your sweet little ass until you get to cum hard, flooding yourself in the end. How does that sound, hmm?"

 

He cupped Aoi's ass with his rough hands then, curling his fingers between the crack before pulling apart the lube-and-precum striped cheeks, lifting the raven up a few aching inches before grounding him back down on his still rigid cock, and repeatedly working the raven on it after a moment.

°°°  
°°°

 

Aoi was in a complete delirium.

 

He was unable to oppose anything Reita did to change their position, he was unable to protest against getting tied up (as if he'd ever protest anyway), his thighs were an earthquake and so were his lips, his chest heaving with breaths and gasps so short it bordered hyperventilation.

 

"N-No, Rei, I can't-... I can't keep-"

_Couldn't keep himself upright_ was what he meant to say but he was, again, not capable to complete his phrase or to complete any other kind of thought that was supposed to make sense but didn't. The ruthless way the blonde kept bouncing him up and down his cock forced Aoi's body to fall forward, his little toes already pressed to the floor anyway but of absolutely no help so he would've just dropped to the floor like a limp bag of potatoes if there hadn't been Reita's strong arm, wrapping itself tightly and securely around Aoi's torso, the tensed muscles pressed across his chest.

 

"Nnh, nnh, nnh, uuhnn!"

 

With the help of said arm, Aoi was at least able to allow himself to fall backwards so his back was pressed right against Reita's hard chest, his arms trapped and painfully squeezed in between their bodies.

 

"Reita, I can't- Please, I need... you, I-... aah!"

 

Aoi didn't even know whether this was real anymore or whether Reita had already long finished him off, went home and now he was dreaming all of this but _fuck no_ , the sensation of nails digging into his ass and chest and how the lube and pre-cum began to wear off and their sweat alone wasn't enough anymore, it all felt way too real to be just one of his fantasies.

 

The pain of how his muscles turned brutally sore now made the helpless, bound raven grit his teeth, the sounds he produced nowhere near moans anymore, more than anything resembling groans and whined grunts, the back of his head resting on Reita's shoulder. At least he was granting him that little bit of relaxtion, Aoi thought but it wasn't able to make up to all the pleasure and the pain that kept conquering his body with every merciless pound.

 

"Reita, uuhn, please, I can't- You know I can't- Aah-haa, please, fuck, I'm begging you!" he mewled, voice a mirror of desperation.

 

And that was what the blonde wanted, wasn't it?

 

No doubt.

 

 

Reita groaned at the verbal desperation, knowing his own betraying body screaming the same thing he just couldn't deny. Despite the gnawing need to be done already being intense, he refused to be so; he wanted to stay this fucking way, in this damn moment.

_Because this was the only way he could be with Aoi. No other else._

 

He had his open mouth pressing firmly to the sweaty heat of the back of Aoi's shoulder, grazing teeth marks over it again and again. One arm still locking steadily around the raven's torso, he fisted a marked thigh with one hand as he kept up with the maddening pace, feeling the other male's body shaking against his own rigid one.

 

He pulled his head back then, pressing his forehead against Aoi's nape until soaked blonde and dark,  silky strands mixed together, looking down with feral eyes, past the bruised hands and at the scorching sight of his cock sliding in and out of its favorite place, with what little of lube and precum splattering out was left, staining the dark belt binding the raven's wrists and his own groin and abs.

 

"S-shit-fuck! Fuck!" he suddenly exclaimed, head snapping backwards and nails digging deep into bruised skin as he went all still, bursts of hot, milky cum finally flooding the ass on his lap, emptying every little drop of it as one harsh groan after groan left his parted mouth, hurting his heaving chest.

 

Aoi's body jerked violently, his wrists rubbed sore and reddened by now as his mouth fell open with what could only be called a sob.

 

The feeling of being filled was a sensation he wasn't all that much used to anymore, despite the fact that, ever since they'd begun this, Reita had taken him at least five times. It was still fucking vivid, the pure hotness shooting up his lower back and making him whimper and mewl.

 

He wasn't so sure whether Reita's arm was still strong enough to hold him because his entire body fell limp now, his cock red and hard between his quivering thighs, covered in pre-cum that dribbled down from the head. Sweat covered his shoulder blades and made his raven-black strands stick to the skin at his nape, his lips agape with short and quick gasps of breath.

 

"You fucker...," he panted out, arms trying to wiggle their way out of the belt that held his wrists together so tightly. "Fucking asshole."

 

Of course Aoi didn't really mean it so while he was pretty fucking _full_ with cock and cum, there was a good amount of amusement mixed with the anger in his voice. God, he needed to come. However, he was afraid that Reita had... other plans.

 

"Ungh," Reita let out a groan, one hand shoving back briefly through his damp hair before letting it fall over the arm chair and sighing. The earlier climax took him some time to clear off the fog from his mind and the blurry sight. Fuck, it really had been awhile. And he was exhausted.

 

"Huh?" he suddenly realized... something, frowning once it was confirmed that Aoi hadn't even come yet and he tsked as new irritation began filling him. It had never happened before, so how many actual rounds could finish Aoi this time?

 

"God fucking damn it," Reita cursed aloud, but had not much energy to argue anymore, so he began loosening the restraining belt before tossing it somewhere just to hear it hit the floor with a sharp clink, leaving behind marked wrists which he touched tenderly for a moment afterwards, though the realization of such a thoughtless gesture almost made him shake with feelings that were bound to stay under the actual, fragile surface.

_At least Aoi couldn't see the current painful expression he was wearing._

 

With a desperate attempt to distract himself, the blonde slowly pushed Aoi off his cock and made him stand on his feet, turning him around and before the raven could protest, Reita quickly covered his mouth over the other's, almost sighing at the soft and aching texture of those full lips moulding against his, all the while holding him close and still by firm grasps of upper arms.

 

He lifted Aoi onto the desk and into a sitting position then, with legs now wrapping around his waist and them facing one another, the blonde instantly covering his face away as he pulled the raven flush against him, hiding it in the marked shoulder and burying his cock again, hands under the overly dirtied ass, his own body straightened and feet braced apart on the floor.

 

However, he was taking it slow this time since he still couldn't fight off the exhaustion that had just claimed him from the first orgasm.

 

And Aoi felt himself falling apart in Reita's arms, his own limbs wrapped around the other's strong body but they were still limp and barely able to keep himself as close to Reita as he would've wanted to be.

 

It was just a small gasp that was torn from his lips once he was penetrated yet again, but Reita was going slow this time and it would, _would_ have been romantic if not for the setting. Reita's face was hidden at his neck, the breath tickling it but _he_ was the one who needed the relaxation (at least in his opinion) so he pushed at the blonde's strong shoulders until he was leaning back enough in order to allow Aoi's forehead to rest on one of them.

 

"Fuck, you're fucking insane," he muttered breathlessly, finally able to reach down and relieve the aching pressure between his legs. While stroking his length up and down, he turned his head to the side, pressing kisses to a particularly visible vein beneath Reita's skin.

 

And he really didn't know why he said what he said.

_"I have no fucking idea what the fuck you're doing to me, Reita."_

 

And not even the disturbance represented by the swear words he was using was able to dispel the meaning his words carried, and he wondered if Reita noticed it or not or if he was going to do or say something _if_ he did.

 

Nonetheless, at that moment his eyes fell close again and his grip on his cock tightened, the familiar heat at last beginning to settle in the pit of his stomach. "Fuck, I'm close... Uhn..."

 

Reita continuously allowed his body doing the whole work, gradually picking up the pace and slamming Aoi against him in short, jarring thrusts.

 

His mind was partly occupied with something else; wondering and wondering if what he'd been doing all this time was not the same to him than it was to Aoi? Making the other lose grasp of the world outside whenever they were two joined beings, just to sink in this deepest depth of heat they were sharing?

 

It couldn't have brought some other, _intimate_ meaning, could it?

 

Well, it never did.

 

And it would be honestly _ridiculous_ if so, something to be laughed at.

 

Very much.

 

Reita gathered Aoi in his arms with a breathless growl, lifting the raven off the busted desk before he guided both of them to a nearby wall – or it could actually be the chalk board, not that he cared – and fucked the latter against it mercilessly and hard, the tendons in his neck straining beneath his hot skin, muscles flexing with every rolling thrust he could still power into the raven.

 

Said raven was _done_.

 

His back hitting whatever it was that Reita pressed him up against barely elicited a gasp from him, the nails of one hand digging into the blonde's shoulder blade as he clung to him for dear life, his other hand working his leaking cock up and down almost aggressively.

 

He was exhausted, _God_ was he spent and he could feel that it was the same for Reita.

 

"R-Rei, I- uuhn, I'm- I'm- oh god please, please!"

 

He didn't even have any other chance to warn Reita of the immense tightness that he knew was about to engulf him when right then and there, his length was already pulsing with his release, white and hot hitting Reita's abdomen and his own hand.

 

" _Haah!_ Aaah-haah!"

 

He moaned his lungs out, it felt like it really, not even having the power to ride his orgasm out completely before he was already dropping against Reita's body.

 

With his chest rising and falling heavier than ever before and his entire body a quivering, sweating, sticky mess in Reita's secured grip, Aoi allowed himself to rest his cheek against the other's shoulder again, gasping for breath vociferously.

 

"Fuck," he wheezed, the adrenaline and aftermath conjuring a wry smile on his parted lips, "fucking shit, you're fucking insane."

 

Reita groaned, the sound involuntarily coming out a bit weakly and he could hardly keep his heated and fogged eyes open, but his arms didn't falter a bit in holding the raven in them, between himself and the surface behind Aoi, staying like that for some silent moments.

 

Then his possesive grip slowly loosened around the other's hips, lowering Aoi onto the teacher's chair carefully and he was almost taken by surprise at the sight of their now slippery inner thighs covered with their warm mixed climaxes, though it wasn't like he wasn't familiar with such a thing, as far as he could remember.

 

"I'm-"

_No._

 

He suddenly stopped himself, halfway leaning over Aoi. He wasn't going to seek for even a brief kiss from him. He'd received more than he could ask for, though he never felt like it.

 

"-going home."

 

And he refused staying long with Aoi, never did that ever, because their formula was simple; they had sex and that was it. And good thing was, it was nearing evening already, judging from the darker atmosphere in the classroom.

 

Reita could feel himself facing a difficulty in trying to steer himself away from Aoi, forcefully neglecting his own endless yearning, and he moved to pick up his pants from the floor close to a splash of their releases. His own unbottoned uniform was already hanging onto his shoulders after putting it on almost carelessly, and he cleaned himself as best as possible with the tissues he'd brought along, seemingly quick as he did so.

 

He just really wanted to take his leave already.

 

°°°  
°°°

Aoi had a hard time trying to catch his breath once he was set down but he didn't quite find it in himself to already pick up his clothes and get dressed again.

 

Though it had always been like this, it didn't seem like Reita cared much, the way he seemed to almost hurry at putting his uniform back on.

 

"Rei-" Aoi began, one arm propped on the armrest of the teacher's chair and he didn't know whether the glance he was throwing at Reita was just plain staring or something with a deeper meaning he couldn't yet comprehend himself.

 

"I..."

 

Aoi gulped, hesitating as their eyes met but then shook his head, pushing himself up on his feet and reaching for his clothes. "Never mind."

 

It was the image of how Reita had been leaning down, as if for a kiss like a _couple_ would do it, that kept lingering in his mind while he got dressed but he tried to push it away quickly.

 

"I'll see you tomorrow or whenever, buddy," he murmured afterwards and was literally rushing past the blonde and out of the classroom even though he was limping in his track, leaving Reita behind with a baffled expression that he didn't even see anymore, wouldn't even want to.

 

But he knew that this time, something... it had been _different_.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Doomed right from the start._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally get an actual bed xD

 

 

Reita watched as Aoi left the classroom with a heavy - and broken - heart that was sinking with every second passing by, anchoring him deep down at where he was standing, gaze painfully continuing to linger on the raven’s back, even if he didn’t want it to, and it had always been this way; Aoi coming to him and leaving him first in the end.

 

Maybe Reita’s earlier action had spoken louder and too much this time?

 

That was what scared him the most…

 

The what-felt-like-a-long-walk home was too quiet, though he figured he might actually need it, however it was disturbing enough to his liking and he had to bear with it until the moment he finally reached the front door to his – by the way, a high class - apartment and headed inside after leaving his shoes on the shoe rack and locking the door.

 

The silence offering itself to him from the dim-lit living room ahead wasn’t all that comforting no matter how loud it spoke of clean, sleek and sophisticated luxury, this whole space and the rest was still void of the presence of his family, the kind of people who should be there for him, but hardly did so now since they were all busy with work. Especially his already married older brother and sister, parents going on frequent business trips, in and out of the country.

 

And Reita who was still young and a student, needed to just study and study—

 

And be the _good boy_ highly expected by his parents.

 

He dialled his dad’s number after he tossed his school bag onto a white leather couch, almost cringing at the crunching sound of his already fallen apart glasses most probably getting crushed even more by some heavy and thick books. Oh well, they were already beyond irrepairable anyway…

 

“Dad,” Reita began once the line was picked up after a few moments, one hand began unbuttoning his school uniform as he headed towards the banks of floor-to-ceiling windows, the white fabric shedding off his body and falling to pool around his feet by the time he pulled at the dark curtains, shielding the dark outside from watching him.

 

“Reita! Oh, honey, how are you doing? Oh my God, I missed you so much! It’s been a while.”  
It was his mother speaking, so his dad must be busy with some task that must have required more of his attention than his youngest son probably did. Well, fuck that kind of thinking, seriously.

 

“Me too,” Reita replied, he really did, although the slight lack of strength in his voice might not indicate the truth. This woman was the only person he was close with, of course the only one to pour his every bound feeling out to. But she was nowhere near to hug him and talk to him face-to-face. And Reita was still the youngest child of three, he needed such affection. “Mom, I…”

 

“Is that Reita?” He heard his dad’s voice, and an exchange of faint words between him and his mother, before the phone was changed in possession. “Rei?”

 

“Hi, dad,” the blonde automatically hardened his voice, feeling himself getting rather irritated and he slumped his topless body on one of the many available spaces on the couch.

 

“How’s school for you?”

 

“School is fine,” Reita would always give the answer his dad never got tired of. “My homeroom teacher wants me to join another international competition in two months.”

 

“Good, so do it then. I’m so proud of you to hear this, you know,” the older male chuckled through the speaker, earning a low hum from Reita.

 

“I’ll consider it.” A pause of hesitation. “And dad?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I, um, need some more money…to buy a pair of new glasses, the ones I have are broken.”  
Reita actually hated asking for financial help from his dad, he barely did so because he refused to sound like some pampered kid and wanted to just live on with the money expense he thought was enough already, but now it wasn’t. “I almost accidentally fell into some drain earlier—“

 

“Don’t you have contact lenses?”

 

Reita groaned and lay down on the couch, one leg was lifted and one arm went to cover his already burning eyes. “Yeah, well, I do—“

 

“Then use them?”

 

“I _hate_ wearing them alright. I’ve told you a few times already before, dad.”

Sighing exasperatedly, Reita sat up and dragged his bag to rest it down against the front side of the couch. When he thought his dad was being silent for too long than necessary, he made himself ask,“So?”

 

“Just use them while they’re still in a good condition, which I think they are. I don’t want you to spend money on things while a better solution is already there served for you.”

 

That only made Reita scowl in frustration, but he all could do was reply, “Fine,” and end the call instantly. He was about to lift himself off the couch when his phone chimed with a received text.

 

Kai (Tuesday, 20:08 p.m.)

_Reita! REITA! I know you won’t believe this but OMG something happened and I literally can’t wait to tell you!_

 

Kai (Tuesday, 20:09 p.m.)

_Before I tell you that, sorry for not texting you that I couldn’t uhh… anyway, I had something to do haha! I hope you’re home now, safe and sound :D_

 

Reita (Tuesday, 20:10 p.m.)

_I am, thanks and it’s okay. And you sound really happy buddy. Mind telling me?_

 

Reita placed his phone in the shower cabinet, heard a ding from the device but he wasn’t going to read the new message now. So he proceeded to discarding his pants along with his boxers to the floor and turning the shower on, a rush of warm water spraying upon his body soon after, relaxing his tensed and mildly pained muscles. Yes, he had been needing this kind of shower so badly…

 

Almost ten minutes later, he was walking out of the steaming shower room with a towel wrapped around his lower body. He patted a soft towel, smaller in size, against his slightly wet face, rubbing it over his soaked bleached hair to dry it and suddenly stopped completely in his tracks once he remembered about his abandoned phone. So he went back in a rush, took the phone in his hand from the cabinet, and—

 

And almost dropped it to the floor by the time he read the text:

 

Kai (Tuesday, 20:11 p.m.)

_I’m dating Ruki now! DUDE I know it’s not making sense at all, but it’s real! Soooo real! He said I’m his official boyfriend after we had …………. :D Because well, ah ANYWAY, there are so many things happened today you don’t know of man!_

 

 _And so many things both Ruki and Kai didn’t know of as well_.

 

***

 

"Well fine, you can fucking take your leave then!"

 

"Don't you care one bit for me anymore, Aoi?!"

 

"DO I LOOK LIKE IT RIGHT NOW?!"

 

They stared at each other, both of their chests heaving with the effort of keeping themselves calm though Aoi definitely was ... not. In fact, he was _fucking_ livid. Thank God his parents weren't at home to witness the outrageous quarrel he was fighting his way through.

 

Ruki had finally taken the last step after weeks of silent drifting-apart, confronted him personally about what was going on between them. _We're breaking up, Aoi, this doesn't make sense anymore,_ he'd said, straight into his face only seconds after Aoi had opened the front door. _You know it, don't you?_ he'd said.

 

Oh, Aoi fucking _knew_ but it was a completely different thing hearing it directly from Ruki's lips than just having the freedom of whether or not to trust the rumors. Now he had to do just that.

 

"You can't just- " Ruki began all over again, taken aback by Aoi's sudden outburst of anger.

 

"I can, Ruki," he cut him short, rushing past him and yanking the door open in the most furious way possible. "Now LEAVE."

 

"But- "

 

"LEAVE! You said yourself that this doesn't make sense anymore! You've found someone else to fuck you so be fucking happy about it, get yourself a cookie or whatever, JUST LEAVE!"

 

Naturally, Aoi wasn't blind. He saw the tremors taking hold of the petite body in front of him, the balled fists and the eyes that glazed over; he saw it all but he didn't care, not anymore. Ruki wanted to end it right here, they were going to end it right here. His angry glance was enough of a prompt, paired of with how he was holding the front door open a very clear indicator that Aoi was _done_ here. Ruki's throat bobbed with a hard swallow and he pressed his lips together to a thin line before finally making a move. It was with gritted teeth that he began walking and at first Aoi was relieved that apparently Ruki had FINALLY understood but ... he stopped dead in his tracks.

 

Aoi didn't dare to turn his gaze downwards, Ruki only reaching up to the middle part of his chest, and the hesitation in the smaller male's posture was making Aoi uncomfortable. It was as if he was arguing with himself, whether or not to say something, whether or not _they_ were worth his breath. What?

 

_I'm sorry it has to end this way?_

_You're an asshole, I've known it all along?_

_Fuck you, I'll be happier without you?_

 

Probably a bit of all of it.

 

Ultimately, it was just a huffed "Tsk" sound that left Ruki's lips, his features distorted by bitterness before he jogged down the stairs in front of Aoi's house and disappeared into the darkness in no time.

 

-

 

It took him all his might to not slam the door shut, certain it was going to break if he did, so he closed it rather slowly. "Fuck this," he hissed into the emptiness of his house, trying to dispel any thoughts by taking a deep breath and exhaling it in a controlled manner.

 

So ... Kai, huh? What did he have that Aoi didn't? What was it? Hah, did he even care?

 

No, he didn't. It was over now and that was the best for all of them. Aoi knew that Reita had befriended Kai as well, though they weren't as close as him _and Ruki_ and he wondered whether that was going to effect the "relationship" he and Reita had developed.  Either way, he wasn't going to worry about that any longer. It was already 9 PM and he still had some homework to do.

 

Trudging up stairs, he returned to his well-lit bedroom and— to his phone ringing, GOD DAMN IT. Aoi groaned to himself, quickly stalking over to his desk which was packed with notebooks and exercise books and picking up the call without even bothering to check the caller ID.

 

"WHAT?!" he snarled irritatedly.

 

Reita froze, slowly pulled the phone away and stared at it for some silent seconds with a shocked expression visibly written across his face, his ear buzzing at the furious shrilling voice that possibly had the ability to break the slim device if just some more effort had been applied. 

 

….maybe it was a _bad_ idea to call Aoi, or maybe now was a _wrong_ damn time. He wasn’t sure which was it.

 

However, instead of ending the call right away, he brought the phone back close to his ear, clearing his throat before he finally spoke,“It’s Reita,” and his voice was surprisingly calm, too soft even to himself, although he was actually such a nerve wreck right now, could even feel the shake his hand was bearing and he wouldn’t even dare to look at a reflection of his own face, knowing too well it must be helplessly displaying an apparent and nervous complexion to his dismay.

 

Needless to say, what if Aoi was going to decline? He didn’t sound like he was in the mood to even talk to anyone, did he? Ah, maybe Aoi and Ruki had really….? Kai hadn’t been lying then?

 

So there was a _chance_ for him?

 

“Do you have homework to do?” he paused after vocalizing that question, waiting for a respond from the other, however nothing came but silence, which was filled with his own loud trashing heart beat of which only himself could hear, and it was almost making it hard for him to continue speak, “I can help you with it.” He really _wanted_ to.  

 

“Just come over to my place. I’ll send you the address.” Since Aoi had never been to his place, likewise for him to the raven’s. Well, sex was really only restricted at school for them, and they had never met outside of it all this time.

 

“Are you…still hurt?” he asked, voice careful and – of course, concerned - what he meant was still hurt from the few hours earlier’s sex, since he remembered the way Aoi had been limping in his tracks, but he was slightly worried if his question had a high potential to be misinterpreted to _other_ meaning.

 

“Want me to pick you up?”

 

Reita was unable to see how Aoi's body relaxed by just the sound of his voice even though his vocal chords seemed way too constricted. Aoi couldn't talk, all of the blonde's questions going in one ear and out the other as he slumped down on the edge of his bed.

 

A soft sigh left his full lips and he was sure Reita heard it but he didn't say anything. What was he supposed to do? What kind of coincidence was this anyway? His boyfriend- well, ex-boyfriend came over to break up and then his affair called him only two minutes later? Was this some kind of evil master plan?

 

Unnoticeably to him, Aoi's grip tightened around his phone while his eyes brushed over the chaos of clothes and towels and school books that reigned his bedroom.

 

"I...," he began but trailed off, knowing that he sounded too conflicted. He was contemplating wether or not to go because yes, he _was_ still hurt and yes, there _was_ some homework to do and he could really need some help with that shit. He was probably also in need of one or two words of consolation.

 

In the end, he had no idea whether it was his head or his heart deciding and it was Friday after all, he could sleep in tomorrow, if not necessarily in his own bed.

 

"Send me your address and give me 20 minutes. And prepare some hot chocolate."

 

And he hung up with those words. As much as he tried to grit his teeth, it was impossible for him to stop a small smile from curling his lips. Getting up, Aoi dragged himself to the bathroom and took a quick shower, just to rinse the dirt and sweat of the day off his slim body.

 

-

 

Since his parents were gone for the weekend, there was no car he could've taken, forcing him to walk the entire way by foot. It didn't upset him, though, for once it was okay, the clear and cold air of the evening a rather soothing thing to flood his lungs. He arrived a little too late at the apartment building grand entrance, he'd never been here before and he felt curiosity settling in.

 

Taking the elevator up to a specific floor until he finally reached it, walking a few steps and taking several corners before he stopped in front of a shining wooden door. Then, he pulled one hand out of the pocket of his jacket and rang the bell. Was it the cold that made him shiver?

 

Reita went still for a second, letting his brain process the new sound filling the air, and once he finally realized it was the ringing sound of the bell, a soft relieved breath was let loose from his mouth and he placed the two mugs of hot chocolate down on the counter next to some open books and homework, before he made his way out of the kitchen to answer the door.

 

He did one last quick check up on his look as he stopped in front of a long, vertical wall mirror, running his calloused fingers through some shoulder-length blonde strands, gaze catching the mirrored image of his bangs being held backwards by some mismatched hair clips which he thought might look kind of ridiculous to some people, to Aoi as well, perhaps. And he didn’t wear anything fancy – why would he? – to impress the raven, just some simple tank top that might have probably made feature of his well-built frame a little too much, partly zipped sleeveless gray hoodie and black tracksuit bottom.

 

And now…he was contemplating whether he should put the contacts on or not.

 

Okay, god damn it. He was actually taking a long time on such a trivial thing!

 

Sighing just as his hand made contact with the cold metal door knob, Reita wondered if he should smile or something once the door was opened, but it would probably be hard to go for the former, since he barely did that when he was alone with Aoi, or maybe never did at all.

 

“Hey,” he said quietly after finally opening the door and saw Aoi, somehow momentarily forgetting how to _merely_ breathe for the sake of himself when all the raven did was just looking attractively different that night, no school uniform (of course), in his own way of style.

 

“Glad you’re here.”

 

Aoi lifted his head once the apartment door was opened, a deep inhale flooding his lungs as he lay eyes upon the blonde. God damn it, he was looking good tonight, wasn't he? Especially without the glasses...

 

The corners of his mouth were just about to twitch into a smile when Aoi reminded himself of better things and kept his lips flat.

 

"Hi," he simply murmured as he rushed past Reita and into the hallway, a faint hint of the other's cologne wafting over to him in the process. Aoi tried to be as unobtrusive as possible while checking out the surroundings. Reita's apartment seemed a lot more neat, kind of more... balanced with its dark floor and lighter furniture.

 

Spotting the doorway to the kitchen right away, Aoi didn't even bother to hang up his coat, instead just passing it to Reita and heading straight towards the unmistakeable smell of hot chocolate.

 

"Mmm," he hummed, having taken one of the mugs into his hands and a sip from it. Ah, that was good, something hot in his body after a walk through the cold. And it was only now that he realized something.

 

Sighing defeatedly, Aoi trotted back into the hallway, now unable to prevent himself from smiling when he saw Reita hanging up the coat he'd thrown at him. God, sometimes Aoi thought that guy was just too good for him.

 

"Uhm... Rei, I forgot my... you know, school stuff," he stated and his smile became apologetic while his palms were pressed to the warm mug.

 

“Oh,” Reita, taken aback by the unexpected surprise, couldn’t prevent himself from blinking several times, though he actually found it _quite pleasant_ to hear that, and knew it should be the other way. Holy hell.

 

“Well, I think you could just look through my homework and see which parts you don’t understand or something,” he scratched his head, slightly pulling at the blond strands as he took a deep shaking breath, finally moved away from where he’d been wasting time at and headed straight to the kitchen counter. Halting halfway in his tracks, he quickly looked over his shoulder, making sure Aoi trailed behind him, and the raven actually did, must have been since the beginning and so Reita, with a helpless blush glowing on his cheeks, continued pacing forwards, curled fists stuffed in his pockets.

 

Once he seated himself on one of the stools, he looked over at his open books in silence, trying to decide which one of them he should pick first for Aoi, though he almost jumped at the close contact between him and the raven in the next split second, earning himself a heart that was now repeatedly beating inside his chest as he watched Aoi take a seat across from him.

_Shit,_ it really had  been awhile since another presence made an appearance in this apartment, and _fuck,_ he was acting the exact contrast to how he had been in the afternoon earlier. _Great_ , now he was a baby instead of a beast.

 

In the end, Reita just made a decision to just choose a physics homework; some stapled sheets that were already filled with hand-written answers, placing them close to the center of the kitchen counter so that both he and Aoi especially could take a clear look at them.

 

….And this made Reita feel way beyond of a nerd than he already was. He really sucked epic at talking, didn’t he? How long had it been for silence to hang upon them?

 

“Aoi, are you alright?” Reita asked, and regretted immediately by the time that question left his lips. He hadn’t fucking thought  of it twice and now it was too late to take it back, but well, it wasn’t like he was lying, because Aoi really seemed like he wasn’t.

 

The raven looked up at him, an unreadable expression on his face. He knew what he was talking about, _of course_ he knew and Aoi didn't even care how exactly Reita had found out. But... did he really care for him that much?

 

He had to keep up appearances though. "Of course I am," he said with a shrug of his shoulders and reached for the pieces of paper. He tried to seem as unaffected as possible while flipping through them. "It wasn't as if I didn't see it coming. It was going to happen sooner or later anyway."

 

Did he sound convincing? Ah, he hoped so, he really didn't want Reita to see how the actual break-up had emotionally messed him up like this.

 

He didn't see nor did he understand anything from what was written down on those papers and when he looked up from them, he met Reita's gaze from across the counter. He was _still_ staring at him, wasn't he? Aoi groaned and rolled his eyes.

 

"Dude, I'm fine," he reassured and put the papers away, just in order to reach for a textbook, pretending to read the pages he’d randomly opened. "Why are you worried anyway...," he added in a murmur, shaking his head a little to himself after tearing his eyes away from the blonde's. Yeah, why was he worried anyway?

 

“Well, sorry if it bothers you, but I’m not some heartless human being that isn’t able to be worried about things that concern me and are important to me.”  
Sighing, Reita straightened and crossed his arms in front of his clothed chiselled chest, rubbing a hand over his face. Aoi really couldn’t see it, could he? If seeing and hearing were not enough, how would feelings alone be able to reach Aoi?

 

This was crushing him, this was hell to him.

 

“You can have this,” he pushed his undisturbed hot chocolate filled mug towards Aoi after awhile, lifting himself from the stool and bracing his arms against the counter top just so he could lean over the textbook.

 

“Aoi, I’ve known you and Ruki ever since first year, so when Kai told me the… _news_ , I knew it would-  must have affected you in some way,” Reita pulled a yellow highlighter out of his pencil box, running the tip across a sentence of some question on the already answered sheet to mark it as the key point, trying to make Aoi see the connection between it and a subtopic in the textbook.

 

“And you are,” Reita pointed out with a quiet voice, twirling the highlighter in his hand after dropping his gaze upon it. “You’re just trying so hard to cover it.”

 

Aoi's reaction followed instantly.

 

He slammed the book down on the countertop with a loud thud, the action accompanied with an irritated huff and an annoyed glance directed at the blonde. 

 

"Okay, what is this?" He snapped at him with narrowed eyes.  "Did you just call me over for some kind of emotional counseling or what exactly is it that you want from me, huh?"

 

Fuck, he was really upset about it, wasn't he? Aoi scoffed and pushed himself away from the counter, getting up from the stool and grabbing the mug of hot chocolate Reita had offered to him.

 

"Seriously, this is..."

 

He walked away, the mug between his palms as he turned his back on the other and headed towards the decent-sized, adjoining living room. It was a nice environment for someone who lived alone, suitable for a single man.

 

Aoi sighed again once he'd arrived at one of the windows that granted him view down on the streets. He hadn't expected himself to be that prone to ... relationship changes.  It'd started raining, he noticed as he mumbled under his breath to complete his phrase.

 

"...none of your business."

 

Reita remained helplessly unmoving in his position from the very first moment Aoi threw those words harshly into his face, striking deep inside him until his blood went painfully cold, but he wasn’t going to say anything in return as he locked his tongue, because Aoi was right; he shouldn’t have ever interfered in whatever was going on in the raven’s life.

 

But how could he just let it be when it came to _Aoi_?

 

His head fell to rest in his hand and he was almost _, almost_ going to release a deep burdening sigh, as if that could lighten the heavy weigh his chest was struggling to hold within. What should he do now? Sit back on the stool and leave Aoi all alone by himself to give him some time?

 

Yeah, he should do just that.

 

But he didn’t. In fact, he left the kitchen area to find Aoi in the living room, the lightning from the outside flashing the tense space brighter as thunders roared through the cracking sky as loud as his pulse did, and the next thing he knew he was using his arms to bar any possible escape for the raven, palms pressing firmly against the cold window glass as he buried his face in the curvy shoulder, trapping Aoi between his body and the hard vertical surface.

 

“I— Aoi,” he choked the name out, the nice scent from the smooth skin beneath his lips and the slightly damp black glossy hair was unbearably tranquilizing for his mind, and he sucked it all in, only to make every cell in his body tremble against its will. And he wasn’t sure if he was ready, if he had ever been but—

 

“I like you.”

 

Aoi's heartbeat accelerated as he pressed one hand to the window as well, in an attempt to steady himself when he was so suddenly captured.

 

A shudder ran through his body and he wasn't sure whether it was just the thunder rolling in his ears or if it was something else, maybe their hearts starting to beat in unison.

 

Clinging to the mug of hot chocolate in his other hand as if it'd suddenly turned into an anchor for him to hold on to, Aoi lowered his gaze, a huff of breath leaving his lips once he felt Reita's on his neck.

 

He was damn near spilling the damn chocolate with how much he was trembling by now. Was it because of the cold that had settled in Reita's apartment? Or was it his heart freezing?

 

And what the hell was that supposed to mean at all? Of course Reita _liked_ him, he fucked him after all.

 

Exhale after exhale kept caressing his skin and sent a shiver of goosebumps all across Aoi's body.

 

"Rei?" he finally managed to mutter, finding himself almost automatically tilting his head to the side, like he'd done so many times before to grant the blonde more access. "What...?" 

 

To Aoi's own surprise, his voice sounded unnaturally weak, almost croaky. What was Reita up to?

 

With closed eyes, Reita rubbed his trembling lips gently against the highly sensitive – and probably marked - skin to plant small kisses on it. He was actually torn between repeating it to Aoi to let him clearly know about his feelings, so for the second time, the faint and almost distorted words of revelation came out muffled and weak, “I-I…like you, Aoi,” and desperate.

 

“I want to have you exactly like Ruki had,” he bit his lip to prevent himself from choking, hammered chest heaving against Aoi’s back. “I don’t want to be just your affair.”

He knew deep down that he was asking for too much but the desires had grown bigger and stronger over the time and it was the mere presence of Aoi in his arms that intensified them to the point where they burst and spilled, to the point where he couldn’t and didn’t want to contain them anymore.  

 

But the question now: Was it for good or the other way around?

 

 _“Aoi,”_ his arms swiftly travelled down to snake themselves around the raven’s waist, rough palms gently resting over a nicely defined smooth and flat stomach and mouth claiming whatever was in its way.

 

Aoi felt the mug of hot chocolate slip through his hands, saw it as if in time lapse but he was unable to move, unable to stop it from falling, shattering on the ground and spilling its content over the floor.

 

He wheezed once realisation set in and all he needed was milliseconds in order to twirl around, breaking free from Reita's firm embrace but instead pressing himself against the window that the rain was still mercilessly pattering against.

 

"What??" Aoi gasped out, his eyes wide as he stared at the blonde before him. Did he hear right? Did he hear correctly? Reita was...? With him? But...

 

"No!" he exclaimed, taken aback by it himself and Reita surely looked just as shocked. "No, what are you... How can you...??"

 

Aoi's chest had begun falling and rising more quickly, it almost seemed as if he'd just run a marathon. He was completely aghast. Oh God, this was all too much, _way too much._

 

He gulped and gasped once more, his body covered in a layer of goosebumps he didn't even feel properly but it was tingling everywhere and Reita's piercing gaze only made it worse.

 

"Aoi- "

 

"No," he cut him short, "why did you never tell me?!"

 

“Because, because…you, I-,” Reita suddenly looked more conflicted than ever, hand roughly shoving through his hair to grip it tightly until his scalp hurt and he couldn’t bear the sight of Aoi’s face; the reaction stung so much he had to rip his tear-threatening gaze away. Fuck, wasn’t he supposed to foresee this?!

 

“It’s because you were still with Ruki!” it came out almost as a sob. “You loved him!”

 

Hell, wasn’t it awfully obvious?

 

Every feature of his face creased as the burn from the almost fallen tears was overwhelming him whole, and he curled his shaking fists as he heard his own snagging breaths, “I’m sorry but I … I really like you, Aoi.”

 

If only his bangs weren’t being held atop his head, he would’ve been able to hide his now red eyes, but no, he couldn’t and Aoi was seeing this crumpled part of him, and he couldn’t stop him, didn’t even have the strength to.  

 

Weak, he was _too weak_ to move himself away from Aoi, unconciously having his body sway forward until he was suddenly pressing the raven flush against the window, struggling to secure his arms around the narrow waist and kissing the full lips slow and hard, tight hands fisted in the sides of the other’s shirt.

 

Aoi didn't react this time. At least not until realisation set in for the second time that day and the bruising force of Reita's kiss caused his entire body to wince. God, was he crying? Or was it his own tears that he could feel and taste on his lips, which he, by the way, still couldn’t move an inch.

 

"Mm-m-...," he made instead, lifting both hands and pushing at Reita's chest while simultaneously trying to back away even further but it was impossible and in addition, the damn hot chocolate was fucking burning his toes through the fabric of his socks.

 

"N-No, Rei, s-stop- "

 

Fuck, he already felt his eyelids starting to flutter, what on earth was it that this boy did to him that made him so fucking weak? But he couldn't bear it, he'd just gotten out of the drama, he couldn't just dive right into the next one!

 

"Stop... mn- R-Reita- ! Stop!"

 

And he pushed him away, as far as he could but _without_ actually letting go, his head hanging between his shoulders because he just _couldn't_ look at him, he felt _so_ betrayed for some stupid reason while his fingers were still desperately clutching the fabric of Reita's shirt.

 

How had he been able to hide it for all those weeks? Or had Aoi just been blind?

 

He really had been.

 

But Reita didn’t want him to see what he had failed to see, because nothing mattered but now. He wanted Aoi to see it at this moment, _feel_ every raw bits patched of it.

 

Or maybe he already was seeing and feeling it now and that was why he couldn’t bring himself to accept it.

 

“I…,” Reita’s voice cracked, and with a tear blurred sight he trailed his hands up, cautiously placing them over Aoi’s clenched ones before he could stop himself, sliding them down to cup the belt-marked wrists but instead of pushing the raven away, he did the precise opposite, probably steering both of them away from the windows as he, at the same time, coaxed Aoi with tender kisses, not only on the lips but the rest of the raven’s flush facial features, and also every exposed skin he could find for his working mouth.

 

And by the time he pulled away slightly to restore his constricted breathing, the realization finally hit him and he could see he was now hovering over Aoi, between two slim legs, hands propping himself against a cushioned surface he assumed was the couch. Just when exactly they had landed here was out of Reita’s knowledge, because the only thing he knew was having Aoi.

 

Aoi knew, though. He was getting weak again, had allowed his stumbling feet to follow Reita's lead, had gasped _with relish_ once his back hit the couch and he felt the blonde's weight on top of him. His legs were opening automatically to accomodate Reita between them, the feeling alone working wonders inside his body. 

 

And still, he couldn't bring himself to lean up and claim those lips that were waiting for him because now that he knew about Reita's feelings and that the cold, desinterested demeanor had only been a mask for all this time.

 

"Promise me that... that..."

 

His lips remained parted as he looked up at the other, young male and into his pleading eyes that sparkled with tears but all he could do was shake his head.

 

"No, I can't do it, I can't... It's different now, I don't..."

 

Admittedly, he was talking more to himself than to Reita because deep down, Aoi knew he was going to give in eventually. Maybe just this one night, to satisfy Reita's needs, just tonight and then they would walk different paths starting by tomorrow. Yeah, that sounded _good._ That sounded like a plan, didn't it?

 

Eventually was _right now_ as Aoi allowed himself to scoff softly only seconds before his hand shot up and grabbed Reita's shirt and pulled him down, smashing their lips together and the only two things that _he_ put into this kiss were anger and despair because _fuck_ , he was well aware that what he was doing at this very moment was more than wrong, letting this boy take him when Aoi didn't even feel anything for him.

 

It was between the rush pace of rough kisses that Reita nipped at Aoi’s lower lip, slithering his tongue in when he had the chance to deeply explore the same wet space of the raven’s mouth for the umpteenth time of the day, until what little left of the sweet chocolate malt taste finally disappeared by frantic flicks of their slick muscles. Perhaps Reita was doing a lot more than he had usually done, it just felt necessary for him, and maybe he was preparing himself for the soon dreading ending of two fuck buddies—him and Aoi.

 

Of course he could see the _answer_ already.

 

And yes, this could be the only preparation he was doing for himself, enough or not, there was still no stopping to what he’d started.

 

“Mmn, _Aoi_ ,” the blonde huskily whispered into one of the raven’s ringed ears, slipped a working hand between them to slide inside the already hiked up shirt then wrapped his arm around the exposed waist, and he definitely loved how the texture of the smooth skin sparked familiar possessive fires within his finger tips. He tightened them hard into the flesh before he began grinding his bulging erection against Aoi’s heatedly, emitting loud groan after groan as each second passed by.

 

Oh, once everything ended between them, he was going to miss Aoi terribly.

 

"Ha- aah!"

 

The first moan Reita magically worked out of Aoi's throat was breathy, the raven's head tilted back as his fingers clutched the blonde's shoulders tightly. The feeling was just too fucking good, how Reita knew exactly how to press their crotches together, how to rub against the insides of his thighs, how to- _everything_.

 

The tingling sensation was like a magnet overpowering him and causing him to lift his legs, doing what he knew Reita loved as if _he_ was the magnet, squeezing Reita's waist between his juicy thighs so his legs were dangling in the air behind them.

 

And during all that, their lips hadn't left each other, not even once.

 

In fact, Aoi had decided _to hell with it,_ it was just going to be _this one night_ so he tangled his fingers in the hair at Reita's nape, grasping it tightly and kissing him with all the passion he could muster.

 

"Mm... Mn _-... Bed...,"_ he murmured, almost inaudibly and words muffled by Reita's lips. "B-Bed, where's your bed, where... is your room...? Mmn..."

 

God, he already felt himself growing harder and harder and all because those hungry lips were eating every ever-so-tiny gasp and groan and moan that he produced as if Reita hadn't already gotten all of them earlier today.

 

The blonde yanked Aoi up into his arms as he pushed himself up from the couch, getting on his feet and reattaching his never sated lips against the raven’s hard enough for both of them to struggle with releasing their own breathless, aroused groans.

 

He had Aoi pressed against another something in the next moment, the dependent moaning raven cradled in his arms, slim legs still clutching firmly around his waist as his gnawing hands held them in place. And in the heated haze of bruising the other’s abused lips he caught several features that made out some parts of the door to his bedroom and thus he knew that the hard surface was what was pushed against the raven’s arching back.

 

“It’ll be your first time seeing my boring bedroom, huh,” and would also be the last.

 

And Reita twisted the doorknob with one hand, the gathered force against the door sending both him and Aoi stumbling almost inside the dim-lit room, without bothering to switch on the lights. They managed to fall onto the soft awaiting mattress, Aoi still settling within Reita’s curved arms as he was straddled, the blonde’s aching fingers tightening into the fabric of the raven’s shirt and twisting through the layer with a solid force before he peeled it off the pale-skinned upper half. His starving eyes never left the male figure beneath him until he began taking off his clothing to bare his muscled top.

 

Aoi gasped at just the sight of those muscles, instantly reminded of how they looked like when they flexed above him.

 

The raven felt his hunger eating at his insides and he almosts felt like being pulled by some imaginary strings as he sat up to push at Reita's chest, prompting him to lie down so he could swiftly straddle his lap.

 

"Let's make it a good first time," he murmured just before swooping down and kissing Reita passionately, his fingernails digging crescents into the skin of the blonde's chest. Soon though, Aoi trailed his lips down to the other's jawline, licking and sucking and biting in almost possessive manner, something he didn't know of himself.

 

His slim fingers caressed downwards towards the hem of Reita's tracksuit bottom and he grabbed it, tugged at it while his lips worked their way down over a nipple and a belly button.

 

"Seems like you need some relief, hm?" he snickered and finally freed the other's length out of its confines.

 

“Fuck, yes,” Reita gave a constricted hiss and threw his head back as nothing but the cold air met his aching length, one hand fisting the sheets within his reach. Damn, he really hadn’t had a good blow job for so long already and he wanted  it right there and now.

 

“Shit,” he suddenly jerked and groaned once his curled hand squeezed around his own length hard to ease the disturbing pain, feeling it thickening and growing bigger as moments passed by, and he felt even hotter as he caught the sight of Aoi watching him with heated wide eyes, lips parting and slightly trembling with anticipation.

 

And the blonde couldn’t help but smirk and stroke himself with quick and desperate strokes. Oh yeah, he wanted to fuck the other’s waiting mouth big and wide and go as far as he could reach inside before his dick got to have the raven’s ass.

 

“Want it?” he asked, voice breathless with a smug smirk stretching his mouth as his hand slid up to fist his own balls, eyes dropping for a moment on the sight of the way his veins pushed up against the skin of his arm as he tightened his grip, driving his cock to get harder and harder. “You want it. Then fucking take it already.”

 

Aoi smirked in satisfaction, not hesitating to peel Reita's almost cramped digits away from around his cock, only to replace them with his own so he could lean down and trail his tongue around the already leaking head, moaning at just the taste of the skin. He couldn't even recall whether he'd ever given Reita a blowjob before at all.

 

Well, this was the perfect place and time for the first time then.

 

The raven closed his eyes as he began to move his head up and down, engulfing the reddened length between his lips and hollowing his cheeks occasionally while his hand was stroking the part that wasn't in his mouth.

 

"Mm... Mgmm..."

 

He knew his noises were lewd but the taste was just so heavenly and he needed Reita to be as  riled up as possible before spreading his legs for him.

 

“Fuck, you really love it, don’t you slut?”

Sitting up while braced on one hand, Reita trailed his other one down to grasp a handful of soft dark strands, fisting them in his tightened grip as he cooed and hungrily watched Aoi sucking him harder, the sunction tightening his balls and he almost couldn’t breathe at how hard he felt. “Keep doing that, and I’ll fucking dirty your little ass.”

 

Then he began pumping his cock over Aoi’s tongue, setting a steady pace that burned his sweat sheened skin with intense lust and made his lips curl to settle between his teeth so he could grunt even louder from the back of his throat, gasping once his the head of his cock bumped against the other’s throat. He felt himself throbbing painfully at the way his length was grazed by the coarse surface of teeth and slicked by that tongue.

 

“Enough,” he rasped, fingers digging into the night hair with a choked curse, “Fuck, I said enough slut.” Cracking a smirk, he tilted his head to the side once he pulled those sticky lips from his hungry swollen cock that had just sprung free.

 

“See _that_? Aren’t you some proud slut? Now lose your damn pants so then I can fuck your ass hard and rough with it.”

 

Aoi moved on order, pulling back swiftly and climbing off Reita's lap just to plonk down beside him.

 

The air around them changed significantly and Aoi knew they both felt it, Reita deciding he was going to give his all for their last night and Aoi... Aoi deciding he wasn't going to hold him back.

 

His fingers were trembling with rising lust as he unbuttoned his pants and carelessly threw them aside, turning so he could reach for the nightstand and rummage around a randomly chosen drawer.

 

"Ah! Oii!" he yelped in surprise when Reita's palm hit his buttock with a loud slapping noise and left a slightly stinging pain he, however, didn't mind much.

 

Turning back around after finally retreating lube and a condom, he tossed both of them at Reita. "There you go, _master_ ," he hissed playfully, then quickly shifted to the middle of the bed and lay down.

 

He was painfully hard by now, his legs spread open for the blonde without even needing to be asked and with heaving chest.

 

"Come on," he panted and bit his lip, the small black diamond dangling from his navel jiggling softly.

 

“You’re acting as if you haven’t had a full of my cock for a _fucking_ month when it’s just been a few damn hours.”

A snicker, and Reita finished his sentence with a faint elastic sound of rubber being firmly set around his cock, the combination of his rough hand squeezing slightly around it almost made him burst but—

 

But then he paused, deciding to just fuck Aoi without a damn restraint since he just remembered he wanted to actually fucking _dirty_ the slut’s ass.

 

And he had really said it, yeah?

 

“Fuck this shit,” he took off the condom right away before he rushed to slicking his cock with lube, bracing his knees on the mattress, pushing his rough palms against the rears of Aoi’s knees then sliding in without a second of taking a deep breath—

 

“Ah,” Reita was partly surprised at the flicker of a discovery, grinning down at Aoi as he bent his upper half. “You’re quite _loose_.”  
Because he had been ravaging the raven’s ass several times earlier already, right. Sliding up his hands over the smooth legs, he then crossed them over so the opposite legs sat on the opposite shoulders, grunting as the hot walls around his lubed cock clenched even tighter. “Mmm fuck—even better.” And he started thrusting, going slow around the now narrower passage, wanting to abuse it more than he had ever done before.

 

Aoi was apparently having a hard time _not_ to fall apart, completely and right away with his head thrown back and pressed into the pillow and his teeth gritted.

 

"Nnh- a-ah..."

 

It did hurt a little, Aoi's muscles still sore from their rough fucking earlier today but it wasn't as if he really cared about it, let alone Reita himself. Consequently, Aoi dismissed the feeling to be nothing more than a very light burning sensation.

 

"Oh Go-od," he wheezed out while trying to find something to grip for his hands and what on earth was that position anyway? Did Reita really expect him to stay like this with his legs _crossed?_

 

"F-Fuck you," he hissed before- "Ah! Nnh-ah!" -one of those slow, deep thrusts scratched dangerously close to his prostate, making him shiver and shudder and cry out with lust.

 

Aoi's eyes were unfocused, not sure where to settle, whether upon Reita's face or his eyes or maybe just the ceiling? Wasn't Reita dodging his glance anyway?

 

Wasn't _this_ just totally wrong _anyway_?

 

Despite the rather depressing thoughts running through his head, Aoi was still moaning with every thrust, every time that cock plunged into him, at a slow pace but with a bruising force.

 

"Mmn, nnh, uuhn... _R-Rei_..."

 

And suddenly, there was something about his own voice, something in the tone of it, a sudden change as he moaned the other's name that made it sound... more profound?

 

Reita faltered a bit, almost finding himself responding to the raven’s verbal call of his name with his own. And all the while he was reminded about how different it was now since he had confessed to the latter, how it had affected and was affecting him.

 

And it was also disturbing. Why did he have to end up _liking_ the male underneath him?

 

It might seem small, but Aoi could really provide, or more like, intensify the strings of attachment between the two of them. If only he could notice how he’d been unconciously having Reita wrapped around his finger for so long … in other sense. Not the other way around. Sure, Reita was the person Aoi would turn to when it came to getting his ass fucked and sore and Reita could even make him drop to his knees and beg all he had just to have sex, but in terms of emotional affection, it wasn’t Aoi who was trapped deep in it and bound to it.

 

The blonde frowned to himself, expression a bit troubled, hating the entire world for what had happened. _Fuck_ , he thought, uncrossed Aoi’s legs and hooked them around his waist instead so he could ease himself lower between them and place his hands over the metal headboard, building up a steady pace with the altered position now that he could slide in and  drag out his cock of the wet channel easily without feeling less pleasured than before.

 

Aoi arched his back beneath him, moaning out loud, shamelessly and with his ankles crossed on the other's lower back.

 

This angle was so much better, so much more intense, Reita was _closer, deeper, louder_ with their breaths mingling as they moaned against each other's lips.

 

Aoi groaned, his eyes half lidded and if he hadn't already wrapped his arms around Reita's torso, he would've have done so at the latest now, black-painted nails digging into those muscled shoulder blades that kept flexing beneath his palms with every thrust.

 

"Uuhn... Fuck, just- ah! Just like... that, Rei- Haah!"

 

Aoi felt like the _hungriest_ man on earth and he didn't need anything but Reita's pleasured moans above him in order to throw away all the remaining inhibitions - and he hadn't had much to begin with.

 

Squeezing Reita's waist tightly between his sweat-sticky thighs, the raven lifted his head to smash his lips against Reita's, biting and sucking all at once and it was _desperate_ and _needy_ as he scratched down Reita's back with more whimpered moans and groans, leaving red streaks and a blissful hiss spilling out into his mouth while the noise of their bodies and hips working together and slapping against each other grew louder and louder between their panting breaths.

 

It was, quite literally, breathtaking.

 

“Gah—ungh!”

Grunting, Reita curled his fingers along the headboard until his knuckles turned white before finally releasing them from it, only to tightly fist the white covers, jacking his throbbing hard cock into the raven buried in the mattress. The blond was torn between driving both of them to a quick desperate release and staying in this seemingly endless pleasured depth.

 

With a gasp, he instantly pulled his lips away from the rush of passionate abuse they were receiving from the raven’s, purring deep in his throat once he nibbled on the soft skin before piercing it with his teeth to break the fragile layer until the familiar faint red appeared, blooming and replacing the previous marks.

 

“Aoiii— ngghh ah, fuck, shit—fuck! Fuck!” Reita’s growls filled Aoi’s ears as he could feel the tremble his body was experiencing. Fuck, he was so close. “Fuck!” He peeled the tensing arms from his body, pinned Aoi’s hands next to either side of his head with his own and could see how the black-painted nails had slights hint of red staining them, all the way down to the sweaty flushed writhing form that was holding his big cock inside; the erotic sight immediately silenced any noises in his head.  

 

He pistoned his hips, fixing his position for a second before he worked his way over and over again into Aoi, pressing his sole dominance against the pinned struggling hands within his grip, his body weighing down upon Aoi’s until the navel piercing and leaking cock were pressed up against his abs.

 

Sweat was starting to slick their skin while their bodies continued to rub and shove against each other, Aoi moaning and writhing beneath the blond like the slut he was.

 

For him.

 

The raven whimpered almost in frustration, struggling at the strong grip that held his wrists in place but he was too weak to loosen it. The irregular rhythm was driving him into madness, it seemed as if Reita couldn't decide, couldn't make up his mind whether to thrust quickly and roughly or slowly but in turn all the more hard.

 

It wasn't as though Aoi really _cared_ at all because at this point, he was letting Reita have his way with him, was encouraging him, moaning his name and bucking and jerking his hips impatiently and even though it was nowhere near being as wild as their fucking in the classroom earlier today had been, this was much more intense.

 

Aoi heaved with lust, tears dribbling down the sides of his face as he took pound after pound against his prostate, every single one of them making him wheeze with bliss. He wasn't very vocal tonight but there was no need to be anyway. Aoi showed him how much he liked it, how much he wanted it, _needed_ it just _one last time tonight, please-_  

 

"Aah! Ha- a-ah- aaah!"

 

The leaking head of Reita's throbbing cock hit the sensitive gland at a perfect aim, dead on and the raven-haired boy's body was forced into a painful looking angle, slender hips squirming from side to side while his mouth stood open with voiceless gasps. With his eyes wide open, he was almost goggling up at Reita who had stopped moving altogether as well for a reason Aoi didn't quite understand yet.

 

All he knew was that his chest was heaving, that their bodies were still touching almost everywhere they could and molded together like two pieces of a puzzle, like magnets, and that - before Aoi even knew or would've been able to stop it - his eyes which were still lustfully focused on Reita's began to tear up.

 

Swallowing, Reita parted his mouth and—

 

No, they would just finish it right there and then.

 

_But the tears, they were Aoi’s—_

 

He wouldn’t be seeing them after this.

 

In the end, Reita let out a faint and bitter chuckle, his audible breath stirring the disarray blond bangs of his own, retracting his possessive hands from trapping the wrists and curling those trembling arms around his neck.  
Feeling those slim fingers weave their way through his damp hair, he continued moving, their rhythm slow and raw, his face settled between the feminine curve of Aoi’s shoulder and neck while his cock pushed in deeper and deeper to prod at that exact spot, chests grinding against one another so hard he could swear Aoi was able to hear the pounding of his heartbeat.

 

Full of fear to let him go.

 

But it wasn’t like Aoi had ever been his anyway.

 

And then pleasure finally shattered him, groaning as he buried his face firmly against Aoi’s marked shoulder and tried to ride out his orgasm in the next few moments.

 

A more than needy whimper hit his ear, Aoi's voice almost like a sob as he felt the pulsing and twitching of Reita's cock inside him, the warm sensation of semen filling him enough to _almost_ push him over the edge.

 

With one hand tangled in the blond hair at Reita's nape, mewling with relish at how those lips pressed to his skin, the raven reached down and began stroking himself, quickly but firmly until the last few meters were finally overstepped.

 

His body tensed with his own release and it was probably to both their surprise that he didn't make a single sound while the giant wave of pleasure crashed down on him. Hot, sticky droplets dribbled down his length and hand, his legs limping and threatening to drop from around Reita's hips.

 

Aoi stared up at the ceiling, his cheeks hot and flushed and his lips parted in order to catch his breath. Reita's muscled body was heaving above him, the blond's trembling gasps hitting his neck.

 

Aoi gulped, several times at that, and slowly brushed his palm downward over Reita's shoulder blade where he'd left the scratches until it had reached the other's waist. "Get off me," he mumbled and turned his head to the side after now, dropping his legs and starting to squirm.

 

Reita complied without saying anything, hissing once the pain on his back that met with the cool air finally registered his mind and he slowly laid his own body down on the mattress to avoid putting too much pressure onit. A soft groan left his lips once he finally settled in.

 

Now what?

Move on, go separate ways, no more fuck buddy—

 

“Hey,” Reita rolled over onto his side, wetting his lips for a moment before he could finally speak. “You could leave now, or tomorrow…or…” he trailed off once his eyes fell on Aoi’s face, quickly averting them away once he thought of words, _words…_ he sucked at expressing whatever was going through his head.

 

“ _Stay_ ,” he finally breathed it, hand reaching out to cup Aoi’s face and gently making him turn to look directly into his eyes. “Just for this night,” a painful-looking, tiny smile trembled his mouth. “And, you can pretend my confession and any of this, and whatever between us before this, never happened. I’ll do the same thing.”

 

Aoi stared back at him.

 

He couldn't walk, no way. Having Reita drive him home and then probably making him doubt his decision to end this? Definitely not.

 

Staying and-... And what?

 

_And falling asleep in Reita's arms?_

 

Fuck. It'd be the first time for them to spend the night together, in a bed, like a _couple_ and it'd be  their last.

 

Aoi gulped. The palm cradling his cheek felt so warm and soft and loving, something he wasn't used to when it was Reita he was talking about. He parted his lips to take a deep breath but only found himself forcing his vocal chords to form and press out one word.

 

"Fine."

 

And he turned around. He turned back from the gentle touch, away from Reita's pleading glance, turned his back on him. "But don't think anything of it."

 

Adding that didn't really help lighten the bad conscience that had taken hold of him but... it was something.

 

And yes, it was.

And once he closed his exhausted eyes, with nothing else to say and the knowledge it was _better_ this way, he thought of his feelings for the raven beside him, of why he had developed them for nothing, that he had fallen for someone who had never made himself smile and happy.

 

No, he was at the very least happy but never showed it to Aoi, couldn’t and wouldn’t share it with him just because the time and situation had never been appropriate.

 

But he would if he could, however, that was impossible now, wasn’t it? Because admittedly, he had had hopes that he and Aoi could be like other couples and now because of such high intensity, he had fallen deep and broken after learning the answer from Aoi himself.

 

After glancing at Aoi one last time, Reita let his head fall back onto the pillow underneath, pulling the blanket over them for a moment, and no longer going to touch the other as he thought better of it, no matter how much he was aching for it.

 

But if that was what Reita had been seeking from Aoi then he had always been at fault from the very beginning, this was a lesson he needed to bear.

 

So there was no happy ending in the end.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Field trip? Nah, feels trip.

“You don’t have to wait for me this time,” Reita murmured in a low voice, too low for Kai to hear so the brunette had to lean closer to make sure he hadn’t heard it wrong. With a confused look, he stared back at the blond who was too busy writing down formulas on a clean exercise book, lips tight as if they hadn’t uttered a word since forever. And when Kai was about to speak out about his confusion, Reita cut him short by shoving the homework in his arms without even lifting his head.

 

 “I have to prepare for the upcoming competition so I’ll be spending longer hours here and be home later.”

 

“I, uh,” Kai blinked, a bit surprised at the different tone Reita was using and he could swear to the Devil his friend had _never ever_ used it before. And he couldn’t help but feel hesitant to shrug that off, because this was a huge matter (at least to him). Reita was worrying him lately; three days ago he had come to school with sandals, marking his attendance as absent for the next day and yesterday since he had fallen sick and now he seemed a bit recovered, even though there was the occasional sniffling and coughing.

 

“Ouh….kay, then. If you say so,” Kai sighed, too tired to start an argument with a nerd (a probably stubborn species at that) as he checked the written formulas Reita was writing down. His eyes widened in amazement once he could finally see the relationship between the questions. The brunette patted Reita on the shoulder, the action wilting the latter a bit and Kai slowly pushed a box of tissues towards him.

 

“Uh, are you sure—“

 

“Yes.”

 

“…Okay, okay. Good, great, _fine._ But dude, I think you should rest some more. Seriously, I think if you were a few months away from doing those math exercises, you could still catch up with them in no time. No need to drive your brain to full torture...” Kai trailed off, voice shifting lower once he caught Reita scowling up at him, seemingly not in the mood to listen to all of that.

 

Kai went out of the classroom that instant and shouted, “Take good care of yourself, dude! A sick body won’t be able to drag your ass to the competition anyway!”

 

Yeah, Kai had a point.

 

And Reita had lied to him.

 

He let a few minutes pass by silently, the clouds floating outside in the bright sky, drifting away and away.

 

He suddenly stood up from his desk, cleaning it up and arranging his books in his school bag.

 

_He didn’t have the intention to stay here any longer._

 

He zipped up the bag, sliding two straps up his shoulder and leaving the desk.  

 

 _But he also didn’t want to spend time walking home with Kai and sharing stories…_ his stories _about him._

He stopped dead in his tracks as something caught his attention. And he watched; watched through an open window as his brunette friend walked hand-in-hand with a familiar smaller male, towards the entrance gate, the smiles exchanged between the two of them making him feel both warm and cold.

 

Mostly cold.

_"Naaawh, Rei-chan, are you jealous?"_

Reita suddenly lost his balance, accidentally hitting a desk from behind and sending its contents from inside pouring out all over the floor.

 

Had everything really been fragments of memories?

 

Or maybe just a dream?

 

_Yes._

 

_No._

Aoi must have been happy.

 

He had seen the raven smiling in class earlier, talking with their classmates and making jokes with them, even flirting with some of the girls. Happy? Satisfied? Content? Obviously yes to all.

 

“Thanks to you, I no longer have distractions.”  
 

Reita slid the fallen contents back into their place and this time—even though it hurt him—looked at the door of the classroom, a broken hope inside him wailing faintly for Aoi to enter through it, searching for him, of all time—

 

But it wouldn’t happen.

 

Aoi wouldn’t do that.

 

_Yeah, just keep dreaming, Reita._

 

***

 

It really wasn't easy.

 

It hadn't even been a proper break-up, yet it felt like one. Aoi had sneaked out the morning after their last night. He didn't know whether it'd been a good idea to leave Reita with nothing but a plain note written on a crumpled piece of paper he'd found in a kitchen drawer, and when he thought back to how his hand had been shaking while writing those two lines, Aoi couldn't help but think that it hadn't been a good one.

 

_Thanks for the great time. I really enjoyed it._

_Aoi_

 

He banished every thought of his former affair, didn't allow his brain to even think his name. He _needed_ to forget.

But it really wasn't easy.

 

They would see each other occassionally, their damn timetables just too damn similar. Their eyes would meet across hallways with Aoi surrounded by multitudes of young girls and Reita all alone in front of his locker while switching the different books he needed.

 

Aoi wouldn't pay attention to how his heart stopped beating at those moments or even accelerated sometimes, would just smile flirtingly at all those uninteresting girls that had heard of Aoi "being single again." Of course they already and _only_ knew about his and Ruki's break-up.

 

Because despite the somewhat dangerous, risky places they had used to meet in, he and Reita had ended up successful at hiding their affair. From everybody.

 

-

 

Two weeks passed and fortunately it seemed as if forgetting was growing easier. He didn't go on dates though, couldn't just yet, but with Reita being busy with preparations for the math competition it grew even more rare for them to accidentally meet at school. Aoi's heart became a lot lighter.

 

Consequently he didn't even mind seeing Kai and Ruki together, walking around and holding hands. Ruki would ignore him as if he was nothing but thin air and it was good that way. They needed to move on.

 

Today was a special day, too. The third years' last field trip approaching, the last holiday, the only last four days they could enjoy before final exams were going to take up their time.

 

It was during the first break that all students gathered in one of the larger classrooms, all of them rather excitedly awaiting their teacher to announce the room plans. Aoi found it ridiculous that third years weren't even allowed to decide by themselves who they wanted to room with but oh well...

 

Aoi entered just in time, earned a rebuking glance of his teacher and quickly searched himself a free space to stand. He was unable to stop his eyes from starting to roam though and they soon lay upon a familiar blond head. Standing right next to Kai and Ruki.

 

_He's bonding with the enemy now, huh?_

_I wonder how the competition went though._

 

Aoi shook his head to dispel the thoughts he'd forbidden and fortunately, it was right then that their teacher raised his voice, calming the chattering crowd.

 

"Alright guys! I have the plans we've come up with on how to accomodate you at the hostel."

 

“Ahhh, I want a room with Ruki,” Kai slumped a bit against the wall as he let out a long sigh, watching as the teacher explained any necessary information and details of their trip. “I mean, everyone knows we’re dating now. They can’t possibly separate us?”

 

“You’re not the only one in a relationship, Kai.”  
 Ruki shook his head, chuckling by the time Kai pouted even more as he squeezed the smaller hand in his. “It’ll be just for a few days.”

 

“What if—” Kai paused, gasping when he forced his thoughts into words, “What if I get to share a room with Aoi?! He’s probably going to sexually harrass me all nighs! No doubt!”   
Yeah, Kai was still a bit paranoid, and for being loud, he was shushed by some students who shook their heads at his statement.

 

“Dude, focus.” Reita tried to hold back his laughter, which ended up as a snort in the back of his throat, signaling for Kai to drive his attention back to the teacher by using his finger. “We’re gonna draw out the numbers ourselves for the rooms if you haven’t heard what sensei said.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Kai waved his hand, wrapping an arm around Reita’s shoulders afterwards before shaking the blond side to side a bit. “When is the final round of the competition again?”

 

“Between the fifth and last paper.”   
Kai buldged his eyes at the blond but then quickly recovered from the shock because, _who was he kidding anyway?_ Reita was a genius kid. He could score the final papers without any problems, and if Kai still remembered correctly, quite a number of universities had already offered full scholarships to the blond after he managed to get through the first round of the competition.

 

“Alright, you love birds. Please do the honor of being the first people to draw out room numbers.” Reita patted Kai’s shoulder, and Ruki was the first to make the move, heading to the front of the class and dipping his hand into a box before taking out a paper, with the slightly panicking brunet now leaning over to take a look at the number written on it.

 

“Good luck.” Smiling, Reita gave a thumbs up at Kai from where he was standing, and gradually the classroom was growing louder as third year students began talking about their rooms, some of them were lamenting about them and discussing what they were planning once they arrived at the place.

 

The noise didn’t die down, not even until it was Reita’s turn, and the blond did the exact thing as anyone else; lowering his hand into the box, moving it about in it for a moment before his hand tightened around a tiny piece of crumpled paper. He took it out and read the number out to the teacher who was listing down the students’ names on a paper attached to a clipboard.

 

Once finished, he spun on his heels, almost halting in his tracks the second he saw Aoi heading his way and he instantly directed his gaze away, although his mind was a bit distracted, even more so when suddenly a student bumped against his left side. It sent him to lose a bit of his balance and collide shoulders with the raven.

 

“Sorry,” he almost hissed that out without looking at Aoi, shoving his trembling hands into his pants pockets and steering himself away, heart jamming his chest as the thought about the body contact inevitably crossed his mind.

 

_Fuck that was close._

 

Once he returned to his former position, with Kai and Ruki no longer in sight, he checked his watch and almost cursed at the time. Damn, when would this thing end? He couldn’t wait to get back to their classroom and begin checking on some homework, and he still had to meet with some teachers to settle some important stuffs… Ugh.  

 

Reita pushed his new thick framed glasses up to make them settle firmly across his eyes, and despite how bad he didn’t want to do it, he still found himself looking at Aoi’s back, however painful it was. Ah, turned out he was still the love sick fool after all this time. His hand rubbed slightly at where his shoulder had met with the raven’s.

 

“Alright, who’s going to be my roommate?”  
Grinning, Aoi asked with a loud voice, gaining everyone’s attention that instant. He lifted the piece of paper he’d drawn out. “My room number is 114.”

 

Reita froze immediately.

 

_Holy- holy fucking shit—_

 

Literally majority of all third year students, especially the females, wailed their hearts out, giving obvious signs that none of them were going to share rooms with the school superstar.

 

“I don’t have a roommate?” Aoi frowned a bit, checking the paper once again and leaned over to check the name list already written on the clipboard.

 

_Well, no one except for—_

 

And  suddenly all voices were muted, to everyone’s surprise, focusing on revealing a familiar blond who had his hand held up in the air, teeth biting the inside of his cheek slightly as he kept his gaze away. Then he finally opened his mouth, meeting Aoi’s eyes with his own.

 

“It’s me.”

Loud shocked gasps.

“I’ll be sharing the room with you.”

 

Of course some hardcore Aoi fans didn’t like this at all, but it wasn’t Reita’s fault for drawing out the same room number anyway. And now there were several of the students already asking him if they could exchange it with theirs.

 

“Alright, everyone. Everyone!” the teacher called, waving his arms about to draw the third years’ attention. “Don’t make a big deal out of this, please. It’ll be your last field trip together, and if you guys are already behaving like this, I can’t imagine how you’ll be like once we’re at the hotel. Anyway, let’s not waste our time and just carry on with this before I let you all return to your classrooms, thank you.”

 

Reita had already left the classroom though, heading back to his own. It was no use staying in that packed place any longer. Reita rubbed a hand over his face, the familiar tension was _back_ , he could feel it and fuck.

 

_Fuck, he needed to breathe._

But damn the mere that he was going to share the same room with Aoi was making it _hard_ for him.

 

***

 

Said raven was still staring at the little piece of paper in his hand, undoubtedly dumbfounded by a certain blond rushing past him as if a hurricane was after him.

 

 

 _Really_?

 

The sound of the other girls whining and complaining that none of them got to share rooms with him was just background noise to Aoi as he gritted his teeth, crumpling the paper in his fist. He was out the door in no time, hurrying down the corridor that led to his own classroom.

 

For heaven's sake, why was this happening to him?! Was this some kind of evil masterplan that fate had in store for him? For them? Were they God's secret OTP?!

 

Aoi groaned in more than just frustration once he'd reached his classroom and he headed straight to his desk, picking up his bag and on in his way out again, threw the damn piece of paper into the bin.

 

He wasn't going to say a word to him, _not a word_ and he swore to God he wasn't going to let Reita touch him. Oh no, that was not going to happen. He wasn't going to let Reita turn this field trip into a giant "Come-back-to-me-please" tour.

 

Not really minding that he was skipping classes _again_ , Aoi made his way to exit the school building. Fuck this shit. Fuck it. He was _so_ incredibly upset by this point that he was hoping for him and Reita not to accidentally bump into each other. Of course it wasn't the blond's fault but still...

 

He was probably studying his brains out again anyway so there was no danger of crossing paths with him on his way out. Heading home with his backpack slung over his shoulder, Aoi continued to chew on the inside of his cheek. Fate was against him, wasn't it?

 

Either way, Aoi had to make sure that those upcoming three days weren't going to ruin his self-control.

 

***

 

Friday arrived a lot quicker than he would've liked. They were told to meet at the school's parking lot at 8 a.m. and so they did. Aoi made sure that he was one of the first students to enter the bus after getting his suitcase loaded into the trunk.

 

He was purposely chosing the very, very last seat row and he purposely chose the seat at the window on the left side. It was a perfect place to hide, right? He could just sink into the seat, hide behind the one in front of him and _maybe_ Reita wasn't even going to see him. And if he didn't see him, that meant that he wasn't going to do something so awful as sitting down _next to him_ or, even worse, trying to _talk_ to him the whole bus ride through.

 

No, Aoi was pretty content where he was, had his earphones plucked in, the curtains closed, ready for a bus ride without any uncomfortable interventions.

 

***

 

“Let me help you hold that,” Kai said, offering  a hand since he saw how his friend was struggling with his own suitcase.

 

“Thanks,” Reita unhooked the straps of his bag from his shoulder and gave it to Kai who was standing beside him before he proceeded to settle his problem.

 

“No prob—oooff!“ A sudden strained gasp. “Fuck, so heavy! What’s in this bag??”   
But it hadn’t looked like it was until his arm felt like it could fall off anytime soon.

 

“Books,” was Reita’s dry reply, enough to make Kai’s jaw drop within a split second.

 

“What the hell, man? We’re going on a field trip! We don’t need books there! _You_ don’t need them!”

 

No, he did need them as a distraction, or something to fill him with. Obviously, he didn’t think he could even face Aoi once they’dbe in the hotel room, let alone start a single conversation. That wouldn’t happen and this thought had been unbearably bugging him for days now. So, if Aoi didn’t want to talk to him –highly likely— during the whole time of their stay then fine, Reita would do the same. He’d probably just spend his time with the damn books and pretend he didn’t exist.

 

…As if he could keep up with his own damn promise.

 

Well, they were going to _share_ a fucking room together, of course it’d be hard!

 

“Gimme that, thanks anyway,” Reita sighed and took the bag back from Kai, securing the straps over his shoulder and walking towards the entrance door with Kai following behind.

“Wait, do you know who your roommate is?” The brunet asked, grabbing a metal railing and pulling himself up into the bus.

 

“Yeah,” _very much_. “Aoi is.”   
He kept his voice low once he heard the whispering and saw the staring of some girls who had already seated themselves.

“Holy shit,” Kai put a hand over his gaping mouth, his eyes disbelieving and he had to be dragged forward by Reita since he was blocking other people’s way.

 

“That was exactly my reaction.”

 

***

 

Kai had already fallen asleep beside him, just as the rest, but Reita couldn’t, not when he was worrying about the whole room thing. For the past two hours he’d been reading, listening to music, looking out the window and solving math problems on his phone and still, sleep wasn’t going to claim him.

 

He lifted himself from his seat, fixing his glasses, stretching his arms to relieve some muscles and turning his head as he watched other students’ relaxed sleeping faces, until of course, his eyes landed on a familiar raven hair.

 

“…huh.”   
That was some funny sight from here, and Reita almost chuckled because apparently Aoi had his head tilted upwards against the head rest, his mouth parting and closing with the movement of the bus and he could see the perfectly shaped eyebrows frowning now and then, his body turning to side for comfortness until something fell from his lap and hit the floor with a thud.

 

Reita craned his neck at the sound and narrowed his eyes as he tried to focus on what it was. And it was Aoi’s phone, with the earphones’ wire still attached and plugged into the device. Of course it took him a long time to think about, well, help picking it up…

Ugh, damn. He was wasting a few minutes of his life, wasn’t he? He should better go back to sleep—

No, no, now he wasn’t going to be able to.

_Well, it’s not going to take long._

 Reita sighed as he slumped in his seat, cursing himself quietly a few times for making a possibly  stupid decision. He arose, tried to balance himself for a bit then walked towards the device’s place, taking it into his hand once he crouched down. Music was still playing on it and he turned it off with a slide of his thumb. Moving himself to turn to the left and face the owner –after taking a few deep, supposed to be calming breaths—he tried to be as silent as possible as he placed the phone back into its former position, and almost, _almost_ fucking got himself a heart attack by the time the bus hit a bump on the road, causing the raven-haired to slide his body sideways, in Reita’s way.

 

“Fuck,” he loosed a breath,  hands already clutching Aoi’s arms after he jumped to his feet without a single thought and yeah, his heart was already beating fast in panic.

 

 _But_ it seemed like Aoi was a heavy sleeper and that was quiet a relieving thing, but he still needed to work fast without the raven being concious. And sometimes, it was easy for him when Aoi didn’t know a thing. Like before his confession. Not that he was going to take a chance on the other, as in  breathing in the other’s nice scent he’d been missing or holding his hand or stealing a soft kiss.

 

Like _this_.

 

Wait.

 

Oh God he was doing _all_ of the above.

 

With a threatening gasp, Reita quickly pulled himself away, almost dreading to see Aoi’s shocked expression blending with anger  and disappointment but that didn’t happen, the raven was still in the other world, and that was when the blond could finally breathe, no  longer wasting his time as he fixed Aoi’s position and shuffled all the way back to his own seat, crossing his arms nervously and slumping low in it with a pale face.

_Fuck you Reita._

 

***

 

They arrived about one and a half hours later and Aoi wasn't in a particularly good mood when he woke up. In fact, he was in a _really_ shitty mood.

 

His back and neck hurt, his legs felt sore and asleep from being leaned against the front seat for too long and his throat was as a dry as a desert.

 

Aoi groaned as he sat up properly, and some annoying feminine voices shot through his ears.

 

"Aoi-kun! Aoi-kun! Will you help me with my luggage?"

 

"No, he'll help _me_!"

 

"No, he won't!"

 

Oh goodness. Aoi closed his eyes, thoroughly stretching his body and throwing a dismissive glance at the girls sitting a few rows before him.

 

"No, I won't. You can do it by yourself," he replied with a good mixture of annoyance and sweetness in his voice.

 

The girls reacted with accordingly frustrated whining sounds but it wasn't as if Aoi paid them any mind.

 

Grabbing the backpack he'd brought into the bus with him, he slung it over his shoulder and made his way out of the bus, emerging onto the hotel's parking lot.

 

The building was based on the countryside, on a hill actually and the rooms on the highest floor probably had a fantastic view on the landscape with it's wide meadows and rivers.

 

The raven sighed and turned his back on the scenery in order to get his luggage out of the bus' trunk, mingling with all the other girls and boys that elbowed each other in front of the opened luggage room.

 

"Ugh, get out of my way," he murmured irritatedly a few times until he'd finally arrived at the front, reaching for his familiar suitcase.

 

Except... there was another hand. Reaching for _his_ luggage. _His_.

 

Aoi's body tensed and he slowly turned his head to the side to look at the owner of said hand. No surprise who it was. His eyes narrowed threateningly, piercing straight into Reita's who looked like his heart was about to burst out from his chest but before he could say anything (he would've spit the words out, rather), there was a loud exclaim from their teacher behind them.

 

"You all have about one and a half hours to settle in and then we'll meet again in the foyer area!"

 

Aoi's glance slowly glided back to his luggage, Reita's fingers now curled around its handle.

 

"Take your hands off," Aoi growled under his breath and Reita was hesitating for a second or two, maybe three, was probably considering just to kiss the hell out of Aoi right here in front of all eyes- but he decided against it, of course.

 

 _Coward_.

 

The bleached blond retreated with a sigh that was only meant and audible for Aoi's ears. The latter at least tried to ignore Reita's saddened expression before heaving his suitcase out onto the streets.

 

Not sparing him another glance, Aoi turned on his heels and joined the seemingly endless flood of third year students that began to enter and check into the hotel.

 

It was ridiculous, of course. It was ridiculous, them behaving like this despite knowing that they were sooner or later going to be forced to talk to each other again.

 

Oh how he dreaded those one and a half hours.

 

And of course, Aoi wasn’t the only one.

Reita tried to look as neutral as possible, scratching his head for a moment as he stood with his suitcase by his legs and almost all of the third year students passing by and leaving him before he could make a move.

Ugh, he had only been helping out!

_Damn asshole._

_Well, he does have a nice one though…_

Reita got the keycard after he waited for his turn in the line of students, being one of the last. He was silent for most of the time, not paying much attention to the noises around him, except to that one particular voice—vibrating with excitement and joy it wouldn’t ever want to share with Reita.

 

The blond suddenly stumbled with a surprised curse, bumping into a few male students from his class and apologizing to them straight away, earning himself a pat on the shoulder as he heard a familiar concerned voice.

 

“You okay, man?” Kai jutted his chin as he looked at Aoi’s retreating form, almost with a cringe at that as he began massaging Reita’s stiff shoulders. The blond gave a tiny nod, fixed the straps of his bag and pulled his suitcase close to his legs.

 

“Yeah, don’t worry.” Reita continued walking, Kai matching up his pace and smiling once he saw Ruki coming his way to join their hands together.

 

“So?” Kai questioned Ruki, somewhat lowering his voice and slowing down his pace while Reita went two, three steps ahead, one hand clutching the key card to his and Aoi’s room.

 

“I changed it with Takashi. And he didn’t ask much.” The brunet gave a silent shout of extreme delight as he punched the air at that, quickly being hushed by his boyfriend who was actually as happy as he was.

 

“What are you guys talking about?” Reita spoke his curiousity since Kai and Ruki seemed to be hiding something. He was now waiting for an elevator to descend after pressing the button to call it.

“I’m going to share the room with Rukiiii!” Kai jumped and squeezed the smaller male in his arms who squirmed and laughed, both of them oblivious to Reita’s shocked expression for several moments before the blond gave a verbal response.

 

“But, sensei said—“

 

“He doesn’t know, and he _won’t_ know. And we’re not the only ones, some students must have done it too.” Kai’s grin was too bright for Reita’s taste.

“So, if you think you’ll have problems with your _roommate_ , feel free to change it with someone who’s willing.”

 

Well, actually there were a lot of female wolves waiting for that to happen…

 

“Yeah, I might…” The double doors of the elevator opened, and Reita and the couple stepped in. “I might consider it.”

 

But he didn’t. Because as he saw Aoi walking along the corridor the moment the doors parted, the knowledge about the whole room exchange thing was driven out from his mind instantly, and what he could only think at that time was, no matter what, this 4-days-3-nights field trip would probably be his _last_ chance.

 

_Before he left._

 

Shocked, Reita’s hand made a sudden halt in the air, tightening his grip around his room keycard with Aoi’s hand in the same state next to it. He was contemplating whether or not he should unlock the standard twin room or let Aoi do it instead.

 

_God it felt so fucking awkward…_

 

Shaking his head to himself, Reita didn’t risk a glance at Aoi since he refused to meet the other’s more-than-ever-pissed-eyes, and placing his card in the keycard lock until a tiny green light close to the top end flashed, he pushed the door open, dragging his suitcase along with him and _goddammit_ his heart was already _wrecking and wrecking and wrecking his damn weakening chest._

 

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, just fucking stop doing that!_

 

It was after he fixed his glasses that he finally manage to saunter –as convincing as he did— towards where two single beds were placed next to one another, a nightstand in between them, double tinted transparent sliding glass doors – leading to a balcony—on the right side.   
Reita chose the bed next to it for himself, a flat LCD TVhanging from the other wall, facing the other bed’s side. There was also a mini refrigerator, situated a few steps close to the bathroom which was actually large enough with marble floors and frameless shower screens (and nope, _nope._ Reita wasn’t going to let his mind wander off to… somewhere.)

 

He sat down on the edge of the bed, losing a breath as his muscles relaxed before he quietly set his bag and suitcase down, somehow daring to look at Aoi this time as he opened his mouth, almost closing it when he felt his throat clenching.

 

“You wanna take a shower first or… and, I mean, then after that go down to meet the others,” he hesitated to continue, of course he fucking did, but he willed his flapping mouth to squeeze out the word. “…together?”

 

Aoi took his time to stay quiet as he eyed Reita dismissively after setting his suitcase down next to the other bed, one eyebrow lifted.   
“Yeah, fine with me.”   
He was actually trying –his hardest- to stay as terse as possible, already zipping open his bag to take out a bottled shampoo and shower gel before he disappeared into the bathroom without saying another word or looking at Reita.

 

The blond blinked after Aoi, letting out a deep and heavy sigh as he slowly lowered his body to lie down on the bed, moving his arms to cover his closed eyes and muttering with a regret laced voice. “Fuck, I thought he’d say no...” Ah, he shouldn’t have asked. And now he had to wait now.

 

A faint buzz in his pocket drew his attention and made his hand shove into it to retrieve his phone. He read a newly received text from an unknown number.

 

014-XXX XXXX (Friday, 4:17 p.m.)

_I saw you kissing him._

 

Reita bolted up, heart speeding up with eyes going wide in shock as he read the short text again and again, face heating and almost jumping out of his skin once his phone dinged with a new text coming in.

_Same number!!_

 

014-XXX XXXX (Friday, 4:19 p.m.)

_I have proof (attached photo)_

_FUCK!!_

 

Reita had to bite down on his lip hard to prevent himself from screaming.

 

014-XXX XXXX (Friday, 4:19 p.m.)

_You’re so cute :3_

 

Aoi took an extra long shower consisting of at least fifteen minutes, in hopes Reita just left without him. He stepped out of the shower and reached for a huge black towel to wrap it high around his body, the top end settling up to his armpits. He paused once realization hit him, making him curse.

 

“Fuck, I forgot to bring changing clothes,” he sighed heavily, walked out of the bathroom and then-  then stood still in the doorway as he spotted Reita who was actually still there and now looking up at him with a shocked face. Aoi frowned and a lifted eyebrow, one hand holding the towel tightly around his chest and _god_ , Reita would have admitted it out loud how arousing the image was; with the droplets of water dripping down from the midnight locks, trailing wet trails along the pale smooth skin before disappearing behind the black material. And fuck, _fuck_ , he couldn’t help it that his eyes suddenly moved southward to stare at the curvy thighs until the owner’s voice caught him off guard.

 

“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost, what’re you staring at?”

 

Holy fucking shit Reita needed to get a hold of himself like, seriously.

 

“I-uh, no nothing,” he attempted a tight-lipped smile as he brought his eyes back up, cheeks reddening with embarrassment. “Just a text I just got… and it was a stupid one. Well ya know what?” He quickly disappeared into the bathroom with his own bottled body shampoo, towel and changing clothes. “You can go without me, I’ll follow later.”

 He suddenly halted in his pace, eyes widening because _fuck he totally forgot about it!_ And so he had to rush to get his phone before heading all the way back to the bathroom.

 

Reita hadn’t realized that Aoi was frowning more and more with his eyes following the blond without missing a single step. Waving off the trivial matter, Aoi shrugged and started to dry and dress himself up, blow drying his hair since he refused to get into the bathroom while Reita was still in there.

 

“I’m leaving!” he exclaimed by the time he was done, walking to the door. “Don’t be late, Suzuki!” He wasn’t sure if Reita could hear him, since the blond had seemed to be having something bugging his mind earlier. Making sure he had his phone, wallet and a pack of cigarettes together with a lighter stuffed in his pockets, he left the room and headed downstairs into the lobby.

 

Since the teacher was nowhere to be seen yet, Aoi occupied one of the empty couches, taking out his phone after looking around and spotting a group of girls (sure enough he himself had gained their attention), with Kai and Ruki already being there in the area.

 

About five minutes later, Reita was still in the shower, the cold water jet spraying over his body nonstop just to make sure he could get rid of any heated thoughts (about Aoi, yes) and cool and calm his nervousness about whoever had just freaking sent those texts! It was threatening to Reita and he felt like he should take a look at the photo again to figure out the taken angle.

 

“Ugh, I should’ve been more careful…”

 

Well, too late for that.

 

***

 

  


 “Please behave like real adults.”   
Their middle-aged teacher stressed this to all of the students, who answered with either a wave or a hum that could also mean otherwise. “There’s a beach located quite far from here, if some of you are really determined to spend your time there, then go ahead, but transportation will be on your own expense. Unless you want to just head over by feet, I’d have no problem with that. On the last night of your stay here, you’re free to throw a party here as requested by some of you.”

 

“Oi, Reita, join us tomorrow at the beach.” Kai bumped his shoulder against the blond’s, the teacher’s voice no longer receiving their attention as they gradually immersed into their own conversations.

 

“Uh,” frowning a bit, Reita actually seemed hesitant as he considered the invitation, however, his thoughts were interrupted by Kai’s deafening voice, his body being shaken vigorously.

 

“NOOOO, don’t think ‘bout books. Please, please. We’re gonna rock out our holidays and yes we’re so gonna do that. You’ll deal with them after this field trip ends, buddy.”

 

"Fine, fine!" Reita exclaimed as he lifted his hands, just so he could stop Kai from spinning his head on and on. "Oh God, please gimme a break."

 

"You'll get it!" Kai changed to hugging him tight now, laughing aloud as he was being pushed away by an annoyed Reita.

 

Attention drawn, Aoi snapped to look up from his phone, body tensing at seeing the brunette hugging Reita like that, unconsciously gritting his teeth instantly as he gripped his device.

 

_Who on earth is he to touch Reita like—_

 

His eyes suddenly blinked the moment he realized they met Reita’s and he had to quickly avert his glance back down to his phone, hoping it hadn’t been obvious when it _really had_ and it confused him, it was confusing enough he didn’t know why he’d done that.

 

Had that kind of emotion.

_It had merely been a goddamn friendly hug._

 

A command from the teacher, and Aoi got up to leave the lobby and follow the group of some other students outside, unable to not throw another brief glance over his shoulder at Reita just to see how busy and occupied the blond was while talking to Kai. Their massive group was now walking down the hill the hotel was built on and towards a small piece of forest.

Aoi pouted to himself thoughtfully, hands sliding in his pockets. By the time the whole group finally arrived at a certain area surrounded by tall trees of various kinds, the teacher called for Reita to come forward, just to give some explanations about these… green, living things.

Afterwards, while he conducted some discussions with a few students, he glanced at the rest of their group, trying to figure out who had been _blackmailing_ him (in a harmless way though, he supposed) and couldn’t help but also search for Aoi among them, but he was nowhere to be found.

Turned out Aoi had already sneaked off immediately, walking past decade old trees and over fallen branches and dead leaves until he found a little stream and settled down close to it, further from the group’s attention. That way he could smoke without getting caught by any of them.

“And that’s our Reita-sensei! Thanks for your lesson! Can we move on nowww?” Kai exclaimed somewhere behind him, laughing along with the rest as Reita grunted in response, somehow curling a smile once he was being shoved forward to continue walking along the paved path.

The noisy brunette just made Aoi’s eyes roll sideways. He really couldn’t stay quiet, could he? The raven heard their teacher saying something he just ignored, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.  Inhaling deeply and exhaling the smoke slowly as if he was trying to calm himself down, he watched the water in the stream flow smoothly over moss and rocks.

Reita suddenly stopped in his tracks, letting a few students pass him by as he turned around, scanning the rest of the group.

_Where is he?_

Kai stopped walking as well, looking over at Reita with curiosity as he stood next to him. “Rei, what are you looking for? Did you drop something along the way?”

“Umh, no. No…but,” Reita gave a hum, softening his gaze in understanding and already seemingly far away as he started moving away from the group. “You go on without me, tell Sensei I’ll return soon.”   
He followed the path, and soon found Aoi smoking, but he stayed silent as he watched him from behind.

_Maybe he didn’t hear what Sensei said._

Judging from the situation, Reita decided to just approach Aoi, though he did it carefully by taking slow steps as so not to startle the raven.   
“Hey, Aoi…hey,” he gave a few tiny pokes to the other’s shoulder, uncertain whether he was actually listening or not. “Let’s go.” The blond coughed a bit, hand waving slightly to chase away the grey smoke. “Don’t wanna leave you here alone.”

Aoi winced just a slightest bit at the sudden voice and the poking on his shoulder, only shaking his head in response and saying with a mock voice, “What do you think I’m here for?”   
He inhaled from his cigarette again, still not turning around to look at the other. “I don’t really feel like following these kiddos around and watching them getting to know the difference between fir and beech.” He breathed out a stream of smoke, giving a tsk. “I’m too old for this shit.” He laughed bitterly to himself.

Reita frowned at the cold remark, hardening his gaze and straightening himself before crossing his arms. “Yeah? As far as I know that shit could probably help you in the finals, you’re welcome _old_ boy.”

 _Seriously_. The raven released an audible, annoyed sounding sigh, bending his legs so he could prop his elbow on one of his knees. “What the fuck do you want? Because I’m surely not gonna do what Sensei says, you know me well enough to know that.”   
He swallowed and took another drag from his cigarette.

“Well you certainly don’t have to act _this_ way though. It’ll just be this time to obey him.”   
Reita frowned as he coughed again, wrinkling his nose at the tobacco smell. “C’mon Aoi,” he sighed, softening and lowering his voice.

 

“God, you are so _fucking_ annoying,” Aoi groaned, rising to his feet and throwing his cigarette to the ground before he stomped it out harshly with a foot and rushed past Reita without saying anything more.

 

“…And you can be such a kid sometimes.” Reita scratched his head, still wearing a frown as he looked to the destroyed cigarette and started following Ao, but then there was an unsettling feeling that made him stop from going forward, looking around for… something, since he felt as if there was someone watching them from far. _It could be anything._

“I-WHAT?” Aoi’s eyes suddenly went wide, having heard what Reita had said about him and he came to an abrupt stop just as he arrived close to the group, turning around to glare at Reita furiously and catching the blond by surprise. “ _I_ am a kid? _I_ —??” He struggled to bite his lip, waiting for the group to walk a little further before stepping close and hissing at Reita. “Listen, _I_ am not the one who kept his fucking emotions all to himself and only made matters worse that way, OKAY.” He scoffed incredulously and turned his back on Reita. 

 

“What—?” Reita glanced at other students before lowering his voice, already frowning hard. “So you’re saying I should have told you way earlier? Is that it? Would there be a difference if I did it that way? You,” he let out a bitter chuckle as something splintered inside him, making him curl his hand into a fist. “You just don’t understand, do you?”

 

“Yes!” Aoi twirled around with his eyes a bit wider than before, filled with annoyance and rage. “That’s exactly what I’m saying, you idiot!” He stabbed Reita’s chest with one finger, with the both of them getting a bit left behind from the group. “And I don’t have to understand anything, I just know that _you_ fucked up big time, Suzuki.”

 

Reita stared at Aoi, the words stung him so much the pain was written across his face, locking his mouth into silence before he attempted a slow bitter smile, averting his eyes. “Right, you just wanted to get fucked anyway. What was I expecting? From you? My mistake. My bad.”

He steered himself away from Aoi so then he could join with the rest. “There are times I _regret_ going to that _party_ ya know.”

Lost for words, Aoi was almost letting it show, how hurt he was now as he stared at Reita. Did he really mean that? Was Reita really wishing _they_ had never happened? But the blond was already turning away, and the raven gritted his teeth stubbornly, rushing past the blond to join the group.

 

“Well, at least that makes two of us.”

***

Later that day, all of the third year students arrived at the hotel, with Aoi seeming as though he was in a rather bad mood as he entered the building and Reita occupying Kai who was constantly blabbering about something (could be everything and anything), leaving the raven the opportunity to disappear upstairs into their room. Aoi discarded his partly sweat soaked clothes in the bathroom and stepped into the shower. Ah, that was good.

Reita was actually reluctant to return to their room, but with everyone else already starting to head to their own rooms and himself having nothing to do at the moment, he had no choice. After he’d closed the door to the room behind him, he stepped further inside, directing his gaze towards Aoi’s bed, empty without the raven. His attention was then drawn to the sound of the running water coming from the bathroom. He approached it and gave a nod to himself once it was confirmed the raven was taking a shower…

And also he couldn’t help but stare at the _tiny_ gap between the door and the door frame, thinking to himself Aoi must have forgotten to lock it. Slowly, Reita started to move to his own bed, one hand sliding into his pants pocket to close it around his phone—

It suddenly rang, but as Reita stood there frozen and listened longer, his jaw dropped once he finally realized the device was actually not in his pocket, but in the damn bathroom.

 _Fuck! I left it there?! How could I not have noticed?! I haven’t deleted the photo—oh fuck. Shit! What if it’s that_ person _calling?!_

He swallowed twice and curled his hand while staring at the door, taking a deep breath before he spoke softly, trying to hide his nervousness and panic behind his controlled voice.

“Uhh… Aoi, sorry for bothering but could you… could you give me my phone?”

 

The raven tensed in the shower at the constant ringing of the phone, rolling his eyes as he heard Reita’s words. He opened the door of the shower a little so he could peek past it and at the bathroom door. “Are you kidding me? I’m in the shower, I’m not getting out just because your damn phone is ringing.”

_And don’t you dare to come in!!_

Reita face palmed himself with a sigh, dropping his hand and feeling his face heating up a bit as he could see Aoi’s naked upper body, causing him to struggle to speak and even keep his own gaze held. “I… okay. Just… just don’t check on it or anything.”   
But the phone didn’t stop ringing with its incessant sound, driving Reita to feel on edge even more.

_Fuck, who’s calling right now at the wrong time?!_

“Uh, I changed my mind….! I’ll just do it quickly, okay?? It won’t take a long time for me to get inside and take it and rush all the way out back.”

Aoi scoffed and turned off the water jet, extending an arm out of the shower booth to reach for a towel and immediately wrap it around his body, then getting out of the shower tipsily and snatching the ringing phone from the sink.   
“Who is this anyway?”   
Aoi narrowed his eyes as he looked at the screen curiously although he didn’t recognize the number. Some stranger? He looked up at Reita, ignoring the fact that he was dripping wet from no brief moment of drying himself. “Huh?”

Reita widened his eyes.   
_What the fuck?!_

“NO!”   
He shook his head vigorously as he rushed inside the bathroom without a second or third thought.   
“No no no no! It- it’s nothing! I mean—“

He slipped a bit since the tiled floor was so damn slippery by the time he grabbed his phone from Aoi’s wet hand and he cursed and used his other hand to automatically reach out and clench around one of the raven’s arms to balance himself. “It’s no one—!”

 

Aoi gasped in shock at the sudden touch, almost slipping himself as he lost his balance but breaking his fall with one hand gripping the edge of the sink, thus the towel around his lower half  threatened to drop but he managed to catch it with his other hand so it was now hanging a bit beneath his belly button, enough to show his hip bones and the diamond piercing. With his lips parted and soft pants of breath leaving them, Aoi stared wordlessly back at Reita who was still gripping his arm, his skin prickling with water running down his hair and face and trembling lips, and after a short while he darted a glance down at the phone that had stopped ringing—probably seconds or minutes ago—but… Reita was still not letting go?

 

And Reita, _goddamn it Reita_ , didn’t realize he had actually been staring at Aoi until his eyes followed the other’s, making his heart skip a beat and cheeks glow deep red, swallowing a hard lump as he tried to decide whether he should tear his grip way from Aoi’s arm or not.

Either one would still make him regret.

“I uh, sorry,” he muttered, somehow guiding his gaze back to Aoi’s face slowly as he softened his eyes and startled himself the moment he felt the water seep into his fingertips, cold and calming, and somewhat undeniably arousing to his warm touch. An eternity passed until he finally realized that his hand was caressing Aoi’s wet cheek, thumb gently wiping away droplets of water from it and the raven’s eyes had become wide already, unable to move or say anything at this point.  Reita swallowed.

_Damn. What am I supposed to do now? The door way out is behind me but…_

 Reita chewed on his lip, heart thundering as he–didn’t know how this turned out, but it was going to happen—edged his own face close to Aoi’s, until his hair was touching the soaked silky black one, an inch separating their mouths, almost sharing a breath—

 

But Reita, in the last split second, only left a quick kiss on Aoi’s cheek— _because that’s it, that was his limit—_ that made the raven visibly wince backwards and force his eyes to start tearing up, hoping it wasn’t visible among the water, but he could feel his lower lip was already trembling as Reita retreated not long after he released his hand from the other’s face and lowered his head, taking a few heavy steps backwards.

“Sorry—“

“Go.” Aoi could only say that through gritted teeth, averting his eyes but then he looked up at the blond, tears gathering more and more. “Go!”

 

And Reita did, without lifting his head as he tried to hide his face, now full of pain and regret, now out of the bathroom and even the hotel room, the door closing shut behind him and he slid his back down against it as he rubbed his hand over his face, gripping his hair hard until it left nothing but a dull pain.

“What was I doing…? I wasn’t supposed to do that.”

  
He leaned his head back against the door, dropping his hand as he stared up at the ceiling with stitched eyebrows.

  
“I wasn’t supposed to do that…”

  
But he hadn’t had the strength to prevent himself from doing it and he wanted _more_ , more than what he could probably have.

 

After what felt like forever, he made a move to stand up, swaying a bit as he tried to balance himself, but he didn’t feel like heading back inside right now. Consequently, he just spent a few silent hours walking around the hotel to give himself the time to clear up his mind, only returning when it was at least after midnight.

 

Aoi was already asleep when Reita returned, but the raven woke up to the beeping sound of a key card unlocking the lock and the sound of the door being opened with a click and closed with a faint thud, footsteps slowly coming closer and the raven only had to turn slightly to be able to look at Reita’s dark silhouette, following it until the other was standing beside his empty bed. With a whisper, he asked, voice sounding a little hoarse.

 

“Where have you been?”

 

Reita paused, standing there, frozen, while holding his blanket as he tried to remind himself of how to breathe properly – _and God how difficult it really was_ — before he could force out a word or two as a reply. “You don’t have to know.”   
He took off his glasses and set them on the night stand before he slid in under the blanket and turned his back to the other.   
“Night.”

 

Aoi gulped at the reply and stayed silent for a whole while, then sighed to himself and turned around once more, staring at Reita’s back before slowly sitting up, bed creaking a little as he left it. He had no idea what he was doing. He got down to his feet and insecurely toddled the few steps over to the other to sit down. Really, it was his body forcing him to do all this. He actually… didn’t want this. Did he? Lifting the blanket, Aoi immediately spoke once Reita winced.

 

“Don’t move. Just don’t.”

 

He sniffed and swallowed, proceeding to slip beneath the blanket and –surprisingly—snuggling up to Reita’s back, even wrapping an arm over his waist, half naked (he was wearing boxers) body pressed up to the other’s as he muttered stubbornly.

 

“Don’t you dare think anything of this.”

 

He hid his face behind Reita’s back.

 

“I’m just cold.”

 

“You—“

 

Reita was too shocked to be able to finish his sentence, _hell_ , his brain was not even functioning a bit as he tried to register everything.

 

 _What got into his mind?_ Reita thought to himself.

 

His stiffened body slowly relaxed as time passed, skin warming at the feeling of Aoi’s face pressing against his back and the nice scent from the other was overwhelming, putting himself at ease and god he missed this… a lot, everything and anything of it, _of_ _Aoi, of Aoi.._.

 

“Night…” Reita closed his tired eyes to allow himself to drift off to sleep, but not before he carefully closed his warm hand around Aoi’s still surprisingly smooth and somehow cold one. Well, at least Aoi hadn’t been lying to him.

 

And if this was just a dream after all, then so be it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party hard?

Aoi had been undeniably soundly asleep the entire night, always adjusting his position whenever Reita moved until he found the final comfortable spot, which was in the blond’s arms with his back pressed to his chest.

 

Hours later, Aoi was the first to wake up, doing so to the sound of birds chirping outside with a very soft grumble and shifting his body a little in the process of realizing his legs were tangled with… _other_ legs.

 

He immediately tensed, eyes opening and widening at the feeling of someone breathing against his neck, the pattern constant and soft and smooth, and Aoi turned around very slowly in that arm that was tightly locked around his waist, sharp breath hitching faintly once he laid his eyes upon Reita’s sleeping face. He watched silently, afraid to wake the other up although he had already made some move.

 

Reita was still in his deep sleeping state, whatever was happening around was not disturbing him even the slightest bit, perhaps he was too tired from spending hours away last night, and more rest than usual was needed to make it up.

 

However, that didn’t happen because it was the sound of his phone alarm that had his blood shot eyes cracking open wide immediately, and annoyance soon started to fill him to the fullest as the song kept on playing. All the while he tried adjusting his sight, he somehow accidentally collided his forehead with a hard surface that left red sparks behind his tensed eyelids, emitting a louder groan and he was in pain this time with one hand covering the throbbing spot, the other flailing and fumbling for his glasses.

 

“ _Fuckkkkk_ ….what the hell…ungh…”

 

Hunching his shoulders, Aoi pressed his lips into a thin line to suppress a giggle and reached for the glasses himself, since he was closer to the bedside table standing between their two beds. Already taking the glasses into his hand, Aoi turned back to the other, still laying close as he held the glasses up to him.

 

“Here. Hey, down here,” Aoi said, since Reita didn’t really seem to notice yet that there was really someone laying next to him in the bed.

 

“Thanks.” Rubbing his forehead in hopes he could reduce the sting, Reita used his other hand to take his glasses, unfolding the frames before placing them on and pausing altogether.

_Hold on. ‘Thanks’?_ Who on earth was he speaking to—

 

“HUH?!” Reita suddenly jumped as he stared at Aoi with wide shocked eyes, finally able to process everything, dropping his jaw once he noticed the raven wasn’t wearing anything, not even a string . (Actually, he didn’t that Aoi was wearing boxers, having not seen them yet since Aoi’s body was covered with the blanket down from the top dip of his stomach to his legs.) Lifting up his hand, Reita quickly moved it to palm against his chest and almost heaved a sigh once it was proven he still had his shirt on…

 

Then he lowered the same hand to make sure it was his pants were still intact, and they were.

 

“Ah… _nothing_ actually happened.” He wasn’t sure if he sounded disappointed or anything but the more important thing now was: they had slept together in the same bed.

 

Now moving on to the next part; letting his eyes fall upon the raven until several seconds later, with a cleared throat and careful voice, his words finally tumbled out of his tongue.

 

“Umh, good morning?”

 

Aoi blinked his eyes up at Reita and of course he’d misunderstood the other’s stated discovery, gritting his teeth  as his rather soft countenance vanished and was taken over by annoyance.

 

“No,” he spat out, harsher for the next. “ _Nothing actually happened_.”

 

With a tsk, he sat up abruptly, shaking his head to himself and getting up from the bed to stalk over to the bathroom, disappearing inside with a loud bang of the door closing.

 

Confused, Reita blinked into the silence that followed, trying to piece everything together, then face palmed himself as he let out a lamented groan, dropping his head onto the pillow and covering it with his blanket.

 

“Fuck, I shouldn’t have said  that.”

_So it hadn’t been a dream…_

 

But why it had happened was out of his league, and Reita wasn’t daring to ask Aoi about it.

 

Deciding he wasn’t going to wait for Aoi to get out of the bathroom, Reita sighed and rose to his feet, changing into his bottom tracksuit and a new shirt and putting on sports shoes before he left the room.  
The sound of the door falling shut made Aoi lift up from where he had his hands propped against the edge of the sink, sighing and looking back at his mirrored image.  Reita jogged all the way down to the lobby and out of the hotel into the cold morning, a routine he did whenever he was at his home to maintain his body shape. He was looking forward for the next half an hour that could make him feel better.

 

***

 

With a satisfied sigh, Aoi stood up, having finally finished packing his bag for the beach and hanging it over his shoulder as he called towards the bathroom where Reita was.

 

“Are you done sometime soon?? What the hell are you doing anyway, you know you’ll be swimming, right?” He rolled his eyes as he plonked down on the springy bed, his arms folded, impatiently waiting and drumming his fingers on one of them.

 

“No use in styling your hair, playboy!”

 

“Playboy?” _Excuse me? Who’s the real one here??_ “….Play—?” Reita frowned, drying his bleached locks with a towel before taking a deep breath to control his voice.

 

“And I am not styling my hair.”

 

_BUT WHY IS HE WAITING FOR ME?!_

“Why don’t you go ahead? I still need to meet Kai and Ruki first thing.”

 

Aoi turned his head with a snap to glare at the bathroom door at the mention of those bitter names, scoffing aloud.

 

“Fine. I’ll take my leave then.”

 

Leaving the bed, he headed to the door and opened it, saying, “But hurry up, I don’t think they’re gonna wait for you!” He disappeared behind the loud bang of the wooden structure.

 

Reita blinked, pulling open the bathroom and poking his head out slowly to look at the front door. He chuckled and found himself actually smiling softly.

 

“That guy is actually caring.”

 

***

 

After meeting Kai and Ruki as promised, they headed down to the long and wide spread sandy beach, the blue and green waves rolling and hitting against the shores, glinting brightly in the warm sun. Though despite everything Mother nature could offer, Reita only spent his time sitting on the sandy ground with only a black tank top, flower printed shorts and a towel draped over his head, not joining his friends who were already swimming in the water, including the raven.

 

Aoi, of course, the gold and glory among all others, had taken most of Reita’s attention, even from this far point of view, and the girls the laughing raven had to take care of were nothing compared to the male himself. Somehow as the time grew, Reita felt a bit torn to join or not, wishing he could be _there_ as well, but couldn’t and wouldn’t do it for... reasons.

 

Aoi eventually decided to get out of the water, emerging from the waves in just his bathing shorts and of course topless, one hand running through his wet, black strands; the whole movement played before Reita in a slow and clear motion for him just to watch in complete awe, and a warm sensation suddenly tingled something within him and he knew he _loved_ the other more than anything—

 

“Hey, come on.”

Reita’s world suddenly broke and that was when he finally saw Aoi looking down at him, after spotting him sitting with no one and contemplating for a moment. With an unreadable expression featured on his face and a hand settled on his hip, the raven nodded towards the water, clearing his throat.

 

“If we keep eye-killing each other people will get more suspicious so…” Aoi shrugged, as if it was obvious what he meant.

 

“Huh?” Still recovering from his daze, Reita swallowed down a lump, eyes facing a difficulty as they took in every little detail of the slim body before him. He had to use a hand to shield his eyes, pretending it was the sunlight he was trying block. _Goddamnit_.

 

“Nah, I guess I’m fine staying here.” Reita shook his head, hoping Aoi would leave him soon and waste time on his helpless self. Soapy bubbles suddenly came his way from the right side, making him turn his head to find Kai blowing them, a happy smile making out his facial features. The brunet continued doing so as the wind brought the bubbles southward, heading specifically at Ruki who was taking photos of his surroundings with his phone, the waves of the water reaching his tiny waist.

 

“Might as well just join Kai,” Reita laughed a little. However, Aoi’s expression hardened at this and he gritted his teeth, exhaling audibly through his nose.

_That was the first and the last time I initiated ANYTHING._

 

“…Fine.” The raven finally said, tramping back to the shore and diving into the waves.

 

“Sorry.” It came out as a whisper as Reita lowered his chin on his folded arms that had settled on his legs right after pulling them to his chest, sinking in the silence that grew around him, the bubbles flying his way slowly decreasing in number.

 

A few steps away to his right, Kai sighed loudly and set down a bottle.

 

“Just go dude, I don’t mind. I’m going to join Ruki soon but I still don’t wanna see-,” he walked up to Reita and ruffled the blond’s hair. “my friend here doing nothing, not even building an ugly sandcastle.” He retracted his hand, not liking how his friend just remained silent as his way of responding. Reita kept on watching other students and tourists occupying the sandy areas and the water with a defeated heart.

 

“Well…—!” Reita suddenly yelped, unexpectedly finding his legs moving against his will as he got dragged by his hand, Kai gripping his wrist as he laughed, “Stop! Kai! WHAT THE FUCK AAAA—“ and released Reita into the water, his towel flying somewhere and the blond was now sitting on his ass, tense hands propping himself as he stared wide eyed, shocked with water soaking his bleached hair, tank top and shorts.

 

“Please welcome beach boy Reita!” Arms wide spread, the brunet laughed along with other students, a few even congratulating him for finally succeeding to force Reita into the water. Kai held out a hand to help the blond, but it was all just an absolute pretence as he immediately pulled it back and left his friend where he was to join Ruki.

 

“Asshole, I still have my fucking glasses on,” Reita’s mouth flapped out a mutter, and he grumbled next at how the lenses of his glasses were layered with salty water.

 

Aoi had reappeared out of the water just in time (of course) to watch the entire entertaining thing happen and burst out laughing loudly, a few girls looked at him weirdly, but once his eyes met Reita’s, he sank down quickly as if to hide himself, until the surface of the water was right under his nose, though he didn’t break the eye contact for a single moment.

 

But Reita did, tearing his gaze away and sighing before he began walking out of the water, his mood already beaten by embarrassing things that had happened to him just now.

 

“I’m outta here. I shouldn’t have come along,” a huff that was supposed to sound stressful suddenly turned into a shocked gasp as he was dragged back into the water by his hand, going further and deeper before his glasses became the victim again, this time getting pulled out by some random student.

 

“What are you guys doing??”

 

Laughing with amusement, Kai shouted from far, “Don’t let him go, everyone!”

 

“Fuck you man!” Reita shouted back, only earning laughter from others around him and grunting as he felt a bit insecure without his glasses. He found his towel after a while, all soaked, but not his glasses and he could only stand where his feet could set a grip, swaying a bit as the waves pushed him from behind.

 

_Damn, I need my glasses._

With a roll of both dark brown eyes, Aoi dived in their direction, shooing awayall the boys and girls who were around Reita. Sending a darkened, sharp glare at one of students who had taken away Reita’s glasses, he took them into his hand in a quick snatch, using the other one to grab the blond’s arm to steady him and stop him from swaying too much, his eyes on the other’s face with his full lips curling somewhere between a smirk and a smile.

 

“Please tell me you can swim.” He swayed the glasses in the air to get rid of access water, then handed them to Reita who was narrowing his eyes at him, trying to focus on who was actually talking to him (although he was more than sure it was the raven judging from the voice). Taking the glasses to put them on, he glanced around at other people, who seemed to be expecting a fight to break out between him and Aoi.

 

“I’m not gonna lie,” he began, looking back at Aoi and holding the hem of his tank top down so it wouldn’t float around his bare chest under the water. “But I guess it’s obvious enough, O’ athlete of the school,” he lifted one leg to start making a move. “Now if you’ll excuse me, and _everyone else_ here, I’m going back to the dry land as my brain orders me to—“

 

A loud yelp of surprise of his own as something tugged hard at the elastic band of his shorts, causing him to somehow lose his balance and slip and fall into the water with a frenzied splash, coughing as salty water trickled into his eyes and nose.

 

Aoi’s eyes widened, as if in slow motion but then yelped as well, their arms getting tangled in some mysterious way so Reita ended up unintentionally pulling him down under the water with him. Spluttering as he splashed into it, Aoi reflexively held on to the blond’s shoulders. With sharp quick gasps for air, they broke through the surface and Aoi ran a hand over his face, amused laughter falling from his lips and going unnoticed by himself.

 

“Are you okay??”

 

He didn’t realize how he had a hand pressed against Reita’s chiselled chest, fingers gripping the black material covering it and how very close they were standing.

 

“No, I’m not okay. At All—“ Coughing in all of his struggle, Reita felt for his glasses, making sure they were still on his face but what he’d assumed as the most important thing was now thrown somewhere far into the sea when he heard Aoi’s heart-melting laughter in that brief, yet precious moment. He wished he could do it as well, display how much his heart was fluttering now, but not when there were eyes watching them. And he couldn’t help but think how rare it was to hear Aoi’s laughter whenever he was with him, but it could be because of people around them, that the raven was just trying to keep up his charming appearance….

 

“…Were you the one who pulled at my shorts’ waistband?”

Realization finally filled him, and he blinked once he noticed how dangerously close they were, darting down a glance for a second to see Aoi’s hand pressed against his chest, developing an ache inside his own to just hold it— _restraint, Reita,_ _RESTRAINT—_ and he merely looked back up at Aoi, in those dark eyes that were narrowed at him, a smirk still evident on the full lips. Aoi took away his hand.

 

“Dude, I was standing in front of you, how was I supposed to reach behind you?”

Which made perfect sense. Aoi tsked and laughed, hesitated at first but then snatched Reita’s glasses away again without a warning and held them high above his head, jumping and using his free hand to push the blond – or drown him – under the water again, laughing at the top of his voice and instantly backing away with a broad grin.

 

“Well, just aski-iiiiingggg…!” Reita fell back into the water with a strangled, chocking water out of his mouth after he resurfaced and wiping salty water from his face and his considerably long and soaked blond locks. “Don’t try to break them, man. You already did that before to my two—“   
He halted before he could continue, realizing he’d just almost spilled a bit of the _truth_ to other people.

 

“….Just don’t break them, I already feel helpless with all the water.”   
Did he sound pleading enough to Aoi’s mercy? He better did.

 

“DO IT!” Kai laughed.

 

“NO!” Reita shouted at Kai in response and looked back at the sneaky raven, cautiously moving closer so he could take his glasses back as he spoke, each word coming out slow and careful. “Give them back to me, Aoi.”

However, his next move was splashing the water at the other, arms swinging as quickly as they could and Aoi gasped and gaped at Reita with wide eyes, face dripping with the water that had been splashed at him.

 

“You—!”

He retreated a few steps backward, giggling excitedly and throwing a glance at the other students who were having their own fun watching them. He smirked and waved his hand around as he looked at helpless Reita.

 

“If I give them to you, what will you give me in return?” Aoi narrowed his dark brown eyes, though his gaze had become challenging with just the slightest hint of warning in it, too. Reita blinked at the sudden question, dropping his voice so he could whisper.

 

“…What will I give you in return?” He hummed, frowning as he tried to think of something, anything—

 

“A dick up his ass, Reita!” The familiar voice laughed. Reita blushed instantly as he cleared his throat, folding his arms over his chest.

 

“Well, what do you want?” he held his chin. “Since I can’t think of anything. I figure it’d be easier to just let you tell me what you want.”

 

The same voice suddenly whined, a result from getting a hard hit on the brunet head by Ruki for having such a mouth. The smirk on Aoi’s lips was immediately wiped off,  his expression fell at Kai’s remark and he threw a death glare at the brunet in addition to the president’s slap, also briefly locked eyes with him but then scoffed.

 

“Don’t bother.” Aoi approached Reita and basically shoved his glasses against his chest, merely looking into his eyes for a split second, his voice like acid, “There’s nothing I could want from you.”   
Then he turned away, heading out of the water and to the place he had set his bag and towel down.

 

Reita wrinkled his eyebrows as he held his glasses, watching as the raven left and plonked down on the towel. Patting his face dry with a second one, he didn’t cast another glance towards the others, who were wondering about the quick change of atmosphere.  Feeling disheartened, the blond put his glasses back on, turning away so then he wouldn’t look at Aoi again and glancing at Kai helplessly for a second. But it wasn’t like he was going to blame him, it was supposed to be a joke, but since Kai had no idea about the real thing between him and Aoi, well, this was how it’d turned out to be.

 

“Yeah, I don’t really have anything to give though.” Reita laughed a little, as bitter as he could sound, and noticed a few of the female students starting to leave the water just to join Aoi. Well, at least the raven wasn’t going to be alone then, and Reita tried not to bother, mingling with a few other guys as a distraction to himself.

 

“Party tonight, you goin’?” Kai asked after he drew himself near to Reita. His blond friend shook his head, arms spread as he tried to balance himself in the water.

 

“Nah, it’d be a waste of my time—“

 

“Yes, he’s going!” The brunet suddenly shouted for the others to hear before he turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Reita who frowned back at him. “Everyone’s going dude, don’t try to be so left out.”

 

“…I just don’t feel like going, okay?”

 

“God, you’re so lame.” Kai rolled his annoyed eyes, splashing water at Reita who groaned with how his glasses were covered with the salty liquid, hands lifted in front of his face as a fragile defence.

“When was the last time you went partying huh, genius?”

 

“Uh,” Reita stuttered, mouth opening and closing as he tried to summon back the memories. “About 2 or almost 3 months ago…?”

 

“Ahah!”

 

“—And I regret it.”

 

“EH, WHY??” It was terribly shocking for Kai to hear.

 

“Worst night of my life.” Reita didn’t have to explain much more.

 

“What,” Kai furrowed his eyebrows. “You got laid but you said it was the worst?”

 

Reita nodded, then immediately gasped and widened his eyes that instance. “HOW DID YOU KNOW—“

 

“I KNEW IT! OH MY GOD! I FUCKING KNEW IT!” Kai was too amused by Reita’s expected reaction so he just had to laugh his ass off  for a bit before lowering his voice again. “Just a guess man, I wasn’t transferred to our school yet at that time though,” and he continued laughing and patted Reita on the shoulder who now surely seemed to be going to drown in the water with a pale face that made Kai stop with his laughter and gasp.

“Are you okay?”

 

“Honestly, no,” Reita weakly shook his head. “And I was serious when I said it really was the worst night…”

 

“…Sorry to hear that man.” Kai scratched his head.

 

“Well, my going or not going to the party won’t affect anything anyway.” Reita lifted his shoulders in a shrug.

 

“It’ll only be a night!” And Kai didn’t seem to give up yet.

 

“I heard there’s going to be another one as well?”

 

“Oh,” the brunet blinked. “BUT STILL!”

 

“Have you _studied_ for the finals yet?”

 

“No, but—we’re seniors man, in our third year. How many weeks left before we end our year? And you’ll be _leaving_ not long after—“

 

“Doesn’t matter,” Reita shook his head in dismissal, starting to move and leave the water. “Anyways, I don’t like parties and partying. Last time I went was because I was forced to.” A discouraged loud sigh from behind him.

 

“Whatever you say.”

 

***

 

The door to the bathroom was left opened, revealing a raven head who was bending himself slightly forward towards the mirror hanging in front of him as he applied his makeup, dark charcoal eye shadow and other stuffs Reita had no clue about. His phone was playing some music to which his covered hips swayed to from time to time, a rhythmic hum resounded from his throat. For the so awaited party, Aoi had smacked on a pair of tight black skinny jeans and his favorite, equally tight crop top as one of his best appearances. Straightening himself once he finished his eye makeup, the highly satisfied raven headed back to the room where Reita was sitting cross-legged on his bed with a book settled on his lap.

 

“Oi, are you sure you don’t want to join us?” Aoi rummaged through his jewelry bag, and wasn’t even bothered to stand in front of Reita and nonchalantly chang his belly piercing from the small red diamond to a black, little chain now dangling from his navel.

 

“You could use a little distraction, you know?” Then he retrieved a loose greyish blending with pinkish, lightly see-through pullover from his suitcase and put it on top so his belly and the piercing were at least a bit covered and only detectable for those who looked closely.

 

To answer Aoi’s question, Reita lifted his eyes from his book, though his gaze had dropped lower to glue to the raven’s partly clothed top, and the sinful sensual features did nothing but develop some warmth under his skin, and he wasn’t sure whether he liked it or not – of course, he did— as he found his breathing constricted. He cleared his throat so he could finally reply.

_I don’t need more distraction. I’ve had enough._

 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Reita swallowed, turning himself around so his back was turned on Aoi, hastily flipping through several pages of the book he’d read so many times already. “I think your fans are waiting for you, there’s probably some in front of the door now.” He pushed against the bridge of his glasses, pulling up and wrapping a blanket around his body. “Have fun, Aoi.”

 

Biting his lip, Aoi drummed his fingers on his hip bone, then sighed audibly for Reita to hear.

 

“Ugh, fine. Go be…even more _boring_.” He threw his hand as he scoffed, then headed towards the front door, opening it and—

 

“Aoi-kuuuuun!”

 

\--there really were girls, Reita’s power of prediction was approved. Aoi was a little overwhelmed but just ended up playing along, wrapping two of the female students in his arms and heading downstairs to where the “Party Cellar” was located. He met up with his other friends, fists bumping one another and pretty much instantly starting to drink, playing drinking games and teasing some girls here and there, generally just having fun with everything. As if his mind wasn’t stuck thinking about an entirely different person.

 

***

 

Reita sighed once he’d finished reading the book, fingertips rubbing the bridge of his nose and grunting a bit as he stretched himself, checking the time on his phone and…it had actually been forty-five minutes after Aoi left, and he wondered if the raven was enjoying himself  at the party already, with other people.

 

Feeling hungry, the blond unwrapped the blanket around his body before stepping out of the warm bed to grab some snacks he’d bought earlier at the beach, eyes catching sight of a key card on Aoi’s bed.

 

_Wait, a fucking key—what?!_

 

 “…Are you kidding me?” Reita groaned as he took the key card and checked on it. “He _left_ it? How is he supposed to get inside later when I’m asleep? I know I’d have no problem opening the door though—“ his eyes suddenly went wide once uneasy thoughts started assaulting his mind. “What if he’s going to stay in another room? What if he’s—what if—“

 

_What?_

 

“Fuck.” He cursed aloud and was practically rushing off to grab a pair of jeans from his own suitcase, a dark blue printed shirt and a black blazer. He dressed up in no time, though halfway through it he stopped to exclaim throughout the room.

 

 “FUCK WHAT AM I DOING?! Oh my God, oh my God…” Another groan once he rubbed his eyelids with the heels of his hands. “I’m so going to regret this. Fucking hell.” He sighed, fixing his glasses and checking the time on his phone.

 

“No, I’m just going down there to give him the god damn key card and leave the party and then return to this room. That’s it.”

 

He fastened a belt on his jeans and after applying some gel on his bleached hair and cologne all over his body – _fuck why am I doing this as if I’m gonna spend the whole night partying?!—_ he left the room, but not before putting on his sneakers and checking he had the cards, phone and his wallet first.

 

“Here goes nothing.”

 

Several minutes later….

 

“Excuse me,” Reita tried to slip through the crowd, getting occasionally pushed from side to side by a few people, wincing once someone’s elbow almost hit him in the face and lifting a hand in defence to make sure his glasses were safe.

 

“Reita?” Something grabbed Reita by the shoulder, turning him around and surprising him as he saw Kai who laughed in amazement. “Is this for real?! Dude, you’re fucking here!”

 

“For a while only, I need to find—“

 

“Drinks!” Kai whistled to a student who played the role as a waiter.

 

“Do you know—“

 

“Have some!” The brunet laughed.

 

“Where he is…” Reita quickly shook his head by the time he saw a tall glass of alcohol being offered to him by the waiter. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

 

“What were you saying? Can’t hear you!” Kai let out another laugh, grabbing the tall filled glass and mindlessly forcing the blond to have a taste of it. “Taste great haa?” Reita could only choke, coughing and pushing Kai away harshly as he groaned in disbelief.

 

“Shit, Kai. What the hell?” He spat. But Kai was not the very least affected at all as he chuckled, wrapping Reita’s hand around the glass before leaving his blond friend alone.

 

“Enjoy the party!”

 

Reita was definitely not going to follow Kai, instead, he just stood there helplessly with a glass filled with vodka and other things, grunting as he pressed a thumb against where his eyebrows stitched at. Not even liking how the music was blasted too loud for his ears to bear, he continued his search for Aoi.

 

“…Damn, I can just call him.”   
Using his free hand to reach for his phone, he dialled the raven’s number and waited for the other to pick up.

 

“The quicker, the better. C’mon Aoi, pick the goddamn phone up.”

 

At the far back of the room, Aoi had a pretty happy, giggling girl sitting sideways on his lap—not that he cared, since he was starting to get drunk already anyway and ready to fall in love with the whole universe.

 

“Nooooo, what are you doing??”

 

“You loooooose! Drink!”

 

“Aaah, dude!”

 

“Drink!”

 

“Okay, okay, okay!” Aoi lifted one of the Tequila shots to his lips and downed it in one go, not even coughing and only having his eyebrows twitching a little, when so suddenly he felt his phone vibrating in the back pocket of his jeans. It left him frowning a little since it continued vibrating and with a groan, he lazily pulled it out to look at the display, perfectly shaped eyebrows shooting upwards once the name finally registered inside his alcohol dazed mind.

 

“Oh, would you look at that.”

 

“What is it, Aoi-kun?” the girl asked, curling her lips as she tried to take a closer look at the bright screen.

 

“Shhh, you just sit on me and look pretty.” Aoi’s instruction wasn’t entirely understood by the girl, but she just giggled, wrapping one arm around the raven’s neck who finally picked up the call.

 

“Yaaappp…What’s up? Have you run out of boredom? What?? Dude, I don’t understand a word you’re saying, it’s too loud!” His dark eyebrows kept frowning at nothing in particular while he himself tried to understand what Reita was yelling into his ear, something about something he forgot, a card or... a yard? And in the midst of everything, Aoi did realize that the girl was getting…’touchy’, but didn’t pay any attention to it at all at this point and just tried to speak as clearly as possible.

 

“Rei, I seriously don’t understand a word! What?? No, listen, I’m at the back of the room with Takashi and a few others. Come see me if it’s urgent, al—WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??”

 

Aoi held his phone away from his ear to stare wide eyed at the girl who had started to at least TRY to produce visible hickeys on his neck.

 

“Uugh, get down! Psssh, go! Go! Takashi! Help me! I’m not a canvas!”

 

Said male came over and helped get rid of the girl who began to struggle and whine, getting further apart from Aoi. The raven shook his head and rolled his eyes, staring at his phone again but realized he’d hung up already, shrugging and figuring that Reita would surely be _alright_ so he just went back to drinking.

 

Reita stared at his phone, jaw falling to gawk in surprise.

 

_Unbelievable._

 

He squared his jaw, clenching the slim device in a tremble.

 

“…Huh, I’m leaving now. I’m fucking leaving—“

 

_Aoi kissing one of the students he didn’t know of—_

_Aoi touching them, making them moan and—_

_Aoi getting fucked hard and rough in the ass and—_

 

“NO.” Reita suddenly cursed, doing it even more as anger boiled his blood. _Why the fuck, those images...?!_ With a grumble bubbling up his throat, he suddenly gulped down the drink in his fist in one swift movement, realizing what he’d done only after he’d finished consuming it without a single drop left.

 

“ _Holy shit_.” He hesitantly swallowed the last gulp of the alcohol down his throat, grunting in dissatisfaction for being stupid just now and leaving the empty glass somewhere on a table he could find. Something was starting to pound hard in his skull as he began walking away, his eyes repeatedly focused and unfocused as his body started to sway back and forth slightly. He had to grab onto a few people’s shoulders to steady himself and his step, somehow they were equally as drunk as he was.

 

And then it happened.

 

An uncharacteristic giggle suddenly surfaced from his mouth once he noticed how foggy the lenses of his glasses were, feeling his head weigh like a goddamn brick as his legs shuffled, humming high and low to the beat of the music as he darted his gaze up and down at the dancing crowd and legs-packed floor.

 

“Ah, it’s _meltiiiing_ and _spiiiinniiing_ and _spiiiinniiiing_ —FUCKING PHYSICS!” he shot one hand in the air out of sudden, dropping it after a split second, cheeks flushed red as he realized his mistake. “Wait, Chemiiii-stry!” He spun himself around, chanting. “Ah, Aoi, Aoi, Aoi. Where are you, kitty?” With a pout forming on his lips, he suddenly blinked once he spotted a familiar raven-head. Reita stood and stared in the middle of the crowd like a stupid statue.

 

“KITTY! Ah, ahhhh key card, his treat, his treat, where is it, naaaa?” He patted his hands against his pockets and let out a delighted ‘yes’ once he found it and took it out, stumbling from side to side as he walked forward and using his free hand to hold the raven’s once they were close enough, tightening it in his grip since he refused to let it go, to let Aoi go.

 

“You dumbass, you forgot your key card!” He scolded and placed the think card in the held hand, suddenly smiling as his eyes closed and struggled to keep them open. “Mm? I deserve a gift in return? Aww, thank you!” He chuckled, dragging the raven into his arms as both of his hands cupped those smooth cheeks and now lips claiming the other’s, sighing in content once the latter responded to the kiss willingly.

 

However, that wasn’t Aoi at all.

 

Aoi was watching.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments and kudos are very much appreciated <3 Tell us what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

The real one had had a few more shots, laughing and speaking – more like screaming over the music—to the other guys while the makeshift dance floor was slowly getting packed with people. He did check his phone several more times but there was nothing else displayed, not one text from Reita who’d  sounded so concerned earlier, so Aoi supposed everything was going fine. Takashi and some other guy began badmouthing whoever they found funny and sucked ass on the dance floor and it was only from time to time that Aoi followed their frantic hand signs.

 

Apparently, he’d done so one too many times. His eyes initially only briefly grazed the view that had his head spinning back around only seconds later.

 

_What on…_

Aoi could feel his facial expression slackening and in that very moment, he suddenly didn’t feel all that drunk anymore because he was having his eyes firmly fixed on the heart shattering sight of Reita kissing some guy he didn’t even know and this sank his heart deep into his chest.

 

And then he scrambled up onto his legs, barely able to suppress a sob that nobody would’ve heard anyway, swaying dangerously in his pace and it was only a matter of seconds later that he locked eyes with Reita. The blond looked absolutely shocked, eyes fluttering back and forth between Aoi and the guy that was NOT Aoi.

 

The raven staggered a bit and he didn’t know whether it was forward or backward, only aiming his tipsy steps towards the exit once he could tear his eyes away from the blond’s. On his way out, he bumped hard against a few students, almost sending him to fall but he eventually managed to stumble his way upstairs.

 

Still not able to recover from the shock he’d struck himself with, Reita stared at nothing in particular, too taken aback to respond to the raven close to him who had begun insisting on playing further. Reita snapped out of his heavy crushed world, feeling sober for the time being as he growled, voice venomous.

 

“Fuck off, bitch,” he pushed the other away from him, not glancing back as he weaved his way through the drunk, dancing crowd, silently hoping he knew where he was heading.

 

_Fuck! Shit! I fucking thought it was really him!_

 

“Aoi!” Reita called once he escaped through the same exit the raven had used, whirling around as he desperately searched for the other.

“Aoi!”

He converted to yelling helplessly now, feeling like he could lose his mind since he just couldn’t find the other, hoping for a response from him.

 

Hot tears were already trickling down Aoi’s face when he stepped out of the hotel building and onto the road, taking a deep audible breath that even sounded like a sob that shook his throat. Blindly swaying his way down some path with one hand lifted to press against his mouth, his body was shaking as he tried to swallow back more heart breaking sounds. He couldn’t hear the familiar voice yelling from far behind him, too immersed in his own tears to care about anything around him.

 

“Aoi! Wait! _Fuck_ —“ Reita groaned once he crashed into someone on his way out of the building, not even apologizing as he sped up and searched frantically through the dark surroundings, the contrasting silver moon shining brightly above his head. Damn, it had gotten really cold.

 

Then he gasped, watching as Aoi disappeared down the path they’d walked yesterday, the one leading towards the forest, and Reita straight away started running after the raven, only stopping once a passing car’s horn blared his way, blinding lights directed on his face.

 

“Drunkass!”

 

“Sorry,” Reita mumbled with a pissed glare before he proceeded walking, heart dropping once the raven was no longer in his sight but he still followed the exact path he knew.

 

“Aoi? Hey, it’s dangerous here and I’m…I’m sorry, it was an accident…I just- ugh.”

 

The blond rubbed two finger tips against his temple, dreading the feel of the alcohol that started to regain its effectiveness and slowing down his pace once he saw a familiar person –somehow hoping it wasn’t a goddamn _ghost_ in his drunken state —, quickly feeling at ease at finally getting hold of Aoi’s hand, grabbing it from behind.

 

“Gotcha, it’s cold…and slightly damp huh, don’t worry, Reita’s here, mm?” he let out a giggle –absolutely _not_ realizing he was doing that . Aoi gasped audibly and twirled around to deliver a sharp and shocking slap to the blond’s cheek.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?!” he was basically yelling at Reita, though he couldn’t even see him properly, his trembling somewhere between tearful and angry. “Are you trying to make me jealous? Are you trying to show me what I’m missing?!” His legs stumbled in reverse, now dangerously close to the hillside next to the road. It was apparent enough the raven sounded and looked pretty drunk, completely denying his own feelings at this point and trying to make fun of it all.

 

“ _Ha-ha-ha_ , let’s show that stupid Aoi what he’s missing, _ha-ha-ha,_ I can get anyone!” He tried to snatch his own hand free which Reita had already grabbed again, causing the raven to stumble further backwards.

 

“Let me go! Let me GO, SUZUKI!!”

 

“SHUT UP!”

 

Reita yanked Aoi closer, back to being sober and noticing how risky it was for the raven to be in this position.

 

“Okay, shut up, just,” he took a long, deep breath, breathing slightly heavy as he opened his patient, sharp eyes. “Shut up for a sec, would ya.”

 

He released a sigh, running his free hand through his gelled blond hair as he looked away for a quietened moment.

 

“I said it was a fucking accident because I thought it was you, just fucking believe me. If I had known it wasn’t you, I would have never kissed god-knows-who-that-was!”

 

He tightened his grip around Aoi’s wrist, doing the same thing to the other one before pulling the raven even closer, voice dropping an octave lower while he stared into those dark eyes.

 

 

“You should know, there’s only _one_ person in this world that I want to kiss, been wanting to...” Suddenly his legs gave away,”—f-fuuuck!!”, and he shrieked at this, driving both of them to lose balance and fall, fall and roll down the slightly steep descending path.

 

“Aaahhh!” Aoi yelped loudly in Reita’s strong arms that had wrapped around him instinctively, his voice almost high pitched when he felt like he’d just fallen into a hole.

 

“Oouch! Ah-Ughn—Ouch! Oouu—! Aaahhh!!”

 

He pressed his face against Reita’s chest, his arms coming up to shield his own chest and palms to cover his face from anything that could hurt him, though their clothes looked pretty wrecked and dirty with mud on them once their final roll announced their arrival at the foot of the hillside.

 

Aoi groaned, both in frustration and pain, trying to somehow move, not necessarily out of Reita’s embrace but just generally to see if he himself was okay.

 

“Fuck this shit….Ugh, what did you do??”

 

Reita still hadn’t recovered from all the journey of rolling down that had caused his head to spin. Dust and mud-smudgy eyelids opened slowly to see moonlit, tall trees waving their branches in the air, blown by the cold night wind, in a beautiful breathtaking symphony and he would have been able to appreciate the sight more had it not been for the cringing he had to endure at the sudden pain that bit into his senses.

 

“Oww—fuck…God, it hurts.”

_Hopefully I didn’t break a bone or two._

 

He twisted his head around a bit, noticing something was missing; _his glasses_! And this knowledge made him gasp in panic and try to move but what was holding him down next was the raven who was now lying on top of him, head tucked under his chin and pressed against his chest, his own arms still wrapped around the slim figure protectively.

 

 

“Sorry, my legs ain’t functioning well, I blame the alcohol,” Reita sighed, trying to slow his heart rate from the surprise and dropping his head against the ground closing his eyes, looking as if he was going to fall asleep anytime soon until he muttered, “And I lost my glasses somewhere here…” he peeked down at the raven. “Are you alright? I’m so sorry about this…”

_Two accidents in one night, what have I done to deserve this?_

Aoi’s only response was a groan, allowing his weak self to literally just slump down on Reita’s chest, mouth muttering against it.

 

“I’m too drunk. I can’t move.”

 

He lifted one hand and padded it around, fingers slapping Reita’s face.

 

“Oi, help me. I can’t…roll over, to the side. Ugh.”

 

He ended up slumping down on the other again like a lifeless bag of potatoes, both of them laying still for a while before he groaned again, more frustrated this time.

 

“Okay, you lazy ass, I’ll do it myself.”

 

 

Both hands were lifted and he pressed them into ground on either side of Reita’s body so he could push himself up and—

 

End up face-to-face with the blond, their faces close enough to feel each other’s warm breath on their lips as he stared into Reita’s shadowed, unmoving eyes, his own quite dazed from all the alcohol he’d been consuming.

 

“R-Reita…? Are you…okay?”

But he just kept staring though, not blinking a bit as he allowed himself to get lost in that dark gaze, until the blond’s voice broke the silence, now entirely drunk as the alcohol took charge of his mind once again.

 

“ _Nouhhh_ ….” Reita slurred a bit, however still managed to hold Aoi’s gaze with his own, a tiny smile tugging at his lips before he suddenly pouted.

 

“I lost my glasses, who knows if they’re broken? _Ahhh_ ,” he tilted his head back against the dirty ground, letting loose a long sigh before he slurred again.

 

“Third pair in less than four months _huhhhh_ ,” he tried to lift –or at least move—his arms, but they were too weak to remove themselves from around Aoi’s slim and tempting waist. With a low hum, Reita unconsciously trailed his warm palms against the raven’s layers of clothing, fingers gripping to gather handfuls of the fabric as he lifted one leg, wedging it between two others and –oh, pretty sure his knee just bumped against a restrained bulge—somehow pushing Aoi’s body up more, nose touching nose.

 

“You’re a bit lighter than before, have you noticed that?” Reita’s alcohol induced eyes were wide with amusement. “What have you been eating lately—ah!” he suddenly let out an amused giggle, one rough hand caressing Aoi’s smooth cheek. “You got a dirt here, and here, and here…” he suddenly fell silence, because that’s when he had his own lips pressed against Aoi’s, the raven’s breath hitching in surprise and Reita was unmoving for a second before he started rubbing together, slow and tender just to get the first taste of the kiss.

 

Aoi’s fingers dug into the grass underneath as his eyelids began to flutter, and he couldn’t resist for too long, soon started returning the kiss, exhaling through his nose once he moved his lips a little clumsily against Reita’s though he managed to shift so that he could properly straddle the blond’s lap, whimpering softly into the other’s mouth while one hand slowly settled on the other’s strong shoulder and hesitantly caressed downward over his chest.

 

Reita parted his lips as he groaned, simultaneously doing the same to Aoi’s before he used both hands to cup the raven’s cheeks, bringing his face closer as he tilted his own head to the side and plunged his tongue inside for it to reach deeply, now changing the pace of the kiss as he explored the warm and wet area quite desperately for more of the other’s taste.

 

“Mmm _baby_ you taste like vodka,” he let loose another content filled groan into their rubbing lips, licking Aoi’s sensually as he opened his eyes, his hands traveling down to the other’s pullover and slipping one underneath the tight crop-top until it stroked against smooth skin.

 

“Mm- _mm_ , R-Rei, wh- uhh…” Aoi whimpered nearly blissfully with his sensitive body arching against the rough hand on his stomach and reacting to the possessive grip on his hip, tongue darting out to circle around Reita’s, sucking on it as well, the entire hot kiss seeming almost longing—

 

Though when he felt his crotch brush against Reita’s, it was some kind of arisen electro shock that made him jolt away from the blond, breaking the magic.

 

“N-No, wait, stop, _stop_.”

 

Aoi gasped and shook his head frantically as he awkwardly climbed off Reita’s lap and fell down to the ground with a groan.

 

“I-I’m sorry, _I can’t_ , I just….”

 

Chest heaving, he scrambled to get up on his feet, though he had his difficulties and was swaying, looking down at Reita and staggering backwards as if trying to get up that hill again, towards the road, his panting breaths loud and quick in the nightly silence.

 

“I can’t do this, I can’t….I can’t.”

 

Too shocked to even speak, Reita stared long at Aoi with wide disbelieving eyes, slowly pushing himself to a sitting position before dropping his gaze down at his hands. Even his lips were aching too much, and he was unable to believe it’d happened just seconds ago, and it ended too early, too quickly for him to accept everything.

 

“ _Oh_.”

 

He struggled to speak, not lifting his eyes as his voice trembled, chest feeling hollow as he spat out, “ _Bitch_.”

 

He was too upset to prevent himself from saying more than that.

 

“ _Slut_.”

 

Both hands curled into fists tightly, his body was shaking from the anger he’d been suppressing for a long time, now fused by the alcohol that made him seriously want to let everything out.

 

“Fucking _slut_. Just leave me alone already, I’ve been _wasting_ too much time on you for _nothing_.”

 

Aoi stood unstable on his feet, staring down at Reita with shock and disbelief written all over his face, eyes tearing up at the sting of the words that had come from no one but the blond.

 

“What…what did you just say?”

 

He inhaled, the sound almost resembling a cry before he staggered back towards Reita, only to deliver a resounding, painful slap to his cheek, yelling drunkenly while a few heavy tears rolled down his cheeks.

 

“Who do you think you are, huh?? _I_ don’t think that our time was wasted, I don’t! I just…I just…”

 

He trailed off, taking himself by dawning surprise and not knowing what to say, then sobbing silently to himself before letting out a bitter laced scoff and muttering under his breath.

 

“Fuck you, Suzuki.”

 

And he walked away from the blond, again, or at least tried to since his steps were still tipsy. Watching him from behind, Reita finally growled low in his throat, standing up on two shaky legs –at least they were functioning now—and shuffling back and forth as he tried to gain his balance. He ignored Aoi for a moment as he looked for his missing glasses. He eventually found them a few meters away, covered with –thankfully, only—dirty dust before he blew over the lenses and put the glasses on.

 

Turning to look at Aoi afterwards, he felt more enraged as he rolled his eyes and tsked, storming over towards the raven before grabbing his wrist and yanking him as he climbed back up the hill without a word, and it took a while until they finally reached the still lively hotel. Aoi followed behind closely and wordlessly, wearing a fearful expression and he stumbled from time to time, voice a lot lower now, almost weak as he tugged at Reita’s grip around his defined wrist.

 

“H-Hey, don’t…don’t walk so fast,” Aoi sniffed and looked over his shoulder, but he was still being dragged  on and on and the hand around his thin wrist hardened its grip as they passed by a few drunk students, averting his eyes from their questioning glances. “Reita, hey….!”

 

“Shut up, Shiroyama,” Reita hissed sharply, almost resembling a snarl and at least that did silence the raven. He pocketed for his key card once they arrived in front of their room, glaring sideways at Aoi as he squared his jaw, unlocking the door and pushing it open harshly, dragging the raven as rough as he could be and throwing him onto the bed.

 

“The room is all yours tonight,” he left for the door without so much of a glance back at Aoi. “I don’t want to fucking see your face. Good night, Aoi.”

 

Aoi opened his mouth to yell something after Reita but was cut short by the door slamming shut with a loud bang, leaving the room in utter silence.

_Why is he mad at_ me _when he was the one kissing some other guy?_

 

With a heavy, tired sigh Aoi plonked his tear streaked face first down into the pillow, pretty much throwing his care out the window and falling asleep afterwards.

 

***

 

“Nope, no more.”

 

Someone snatched his partly filled, fifth glass from his hand, leaving the blond frowning hard at his hand, now closing around empty air and into a tight fist. Who was that? He half expected to see Kai as he groaned quite frustratingly, but the voice didn’t belong to the brunet and it was the second afterwards Ruki finally revealed himself, now sitting down across from Reita and drinking the rest of the alcohol.

 

“Hey!” Reita exclaimed indignantly, staring at the other in pure disbelief. That was his drink!

 

The other male merely lifted one finger, waving it from side to side as a signal for Reita to shut up as he pinned him with his sharp eyes, all while he downed everything until the last drop of the cool liquid.

 

“Fine,” Reita grunted and braced his chin against his hand, closing his eyes and almost dropping his head as he swayed a bit due to the alcohol’s effect. Looking back to Ruki with a sour look, he made himself ask. “Ungh, where’s Kai?”

 

“In the bathroom.”

 

The president set down the empty glass on the table with a faint clink, crossing his legs and his fingers together before he leaned back in his seat and held his chin, staring directly at Reita who seemed to visibly grow uneasy with every passing second.

 

“….Yes?”

 

That finally earned Ruki a smile of his own.

 

“You two have been drawing a lot of attention lately.”

 

“Yeah?”  Wait, what was the point? This puzzled Reita. “So?”

 

“Don’t just ‘so’ me, Rei.”

Ruki snuck one hand into his jacket pocket, his voice calm as he took out a pack of cigarettes and lighted up one. “There’s something wrong between you two, and it’s not plain normal, when it should be.”

 

“…And?” Reita had to shift himself, not feeling comfortable in his seat, with where this conversation was leading.

 

“I have eyes, Reita, watching and observing everything.”

 

Ruki held his glowing cigarette between his fingers, huffing a smooth stream of smoke. “ _Everything_. What kind of a president am I when I don’t look after the students? I have the right to know their problems.”

 

He pointed the orange glowing tip at Reita, giving the blond the time to let everything sink in.

 

Ruki ... knew.

 

“Y-you—“

 

“That’s right.”

 

The shorter male glanced sideways at the crowd, his chin placed on his crossed fingers. “Kai knows as well, boyfriend anyway.”

 

He chuckled, sliding his gaze back to Reita.

 

“And he’s been helping you out, if you haven’t noticed yet,” he gave an unreadable smile then. “I know what Aoi is like, _you_ know what he’s like and it’d be a shame to just throw everything out when you’ve come this far. And it’s not you to be this way, to him. You still have a tender heart, sweet guy.”

 

Ruki stood up from his seat and fixed his silver jacket and the black shirt underneath, walking over to Reita and patting him on the shoulder.

 

“Also, don’t drink a lot. You love your brain too much to destroy it.”

 

Reita looked up at Ruki, his face a bit conflicted. “You don’t know what happened just now—“

 

“Oh, would you look at the time!” The president held out his wrist watch with a whole different expression. “It’s almost two in the morning. Ah, kids, KIDSSS go to your bedrooms! End this party!”

 

He yelled over the music, sounding nearly like Kai before throwing his attention back down at Reita.

 

“You can fix this, Rei. You have a genius brain, use it, and solve the goddamn problem. Don’t let the Cupid’s arrow trap you.”

 

The blond dismissed the attempt to reply to Ruki as he forced his mouth close, watching after Ruki as the other male left and disappeared before he slumped down in his seat with a burdening sigh, curling up slightly as he thought through everything the president had said. However it didn’t take him long until he could finally fall into a deep sleep. On the table.

 

What an exhausting day.


	6. Chapter 6

Reita opened his eyes into narrowed slits, feeling ultimately reluctant to lift his head when a non-tolerable pain in the back of his neck registered in his sleep-and-alcohol-muddled mind. Confusion hit him when his sight was filled with the strange, upside down images of…everything around him, it totally didn’t make sense to him, and it seemed like he had his head hang over the edge of a large seat.

 

“Unhh…”

 

Groaning, he tried to bring himself up into a proper position, almost collapsing all the way back as his one arm gave away that instant. His knees bumped against something, or someone to be exact. But he didn’t bother to pay any attention to who it was, some third year guy from another class he guessed.

 

Twisting his burdened body with a grunt, he could finally take a clear look at his surroundings and other people who were sleeping on any surface they could find. It was almost noon by now, from what his watch told him.

 

His hand went lazily to his face, feeling for his glasses which were still intact, surprisingly. He was seriously thankful, had thought they’d fallen off from that kind of position. He wouldn’t ever want to deal with a crack or two in the lenses.

 

Shower, he needed a shower so bad, his whole body reeked of the alcohol he’d drowned himself in a few hours earlier. God, he wasn’t used to this kind of feeling or the occasional malfunctions of his staggering legs as he ascended the stairs to arrive at his and Aoi’s shared room. It had been his worst drinking so far, another party and he’d totally decline. No fucking more.

 

Should he head inside or nah? With what happened last night? The questions kept on floating inside his mind as he stared at his keycard, but whatever he thought was immediately washed away by the time he unlocked the door and pushed it open ever so slightly.

 

Taking off his shoes just after he closed the door, he led his way directly to the bathroom without looking at the raven to check whether he was still sleeping or not. Reita carelessly took off his clothes along the way before he reached his destination with only his boxers and stepped into the shower.

 

“Ugh…fuck.” Aoi groaned under his alcohol-scented breath once he woke up, feeling the hammering pain at the back of his head and using his arm to drape over his eyes and block any lights from hurting them. “Fucking hell…”

 

He didn’t even register the sound of the rushing water in the background, whether it was because his ears couldn’t pick up or his head was just overwhelmed with the pain, he didn’t know. He arose to his feet, all the while swaying a bit and making his way to the bathroom door. For a moment or two, he frowned at the wood and literally stared at if before he opened it and toddled inside, completely ignoring the shower running or maybe wasn’t even aware of it yet. He headed to the sink and reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste, face still contorted into a sleepy, hangover grimace.

 

 Reita had the sides of his head and body attached to the damp wall, while the warm shower sprayed upon his face. He was staring at nothing in particular with his arms crossed over his chest, finally turning his head just a bit to send the raven a glance, an annoyed one. His voice croaked.

 

“Close the damn door please if you wanna join me in the shower after this.”

 

Aoi paused, stuck his toothbrush into his mouth and looked at Reita in the mirror, rolling his eyes and kicking the door close with a foot.

 

“Are you kidding? I’m definitely NOT gonna ‘join you in the shower’,” he scoffed and concentrated on brushing his teeth, grimacing from time to time at the bad taste of alcohol that remained in his mouth.

 

Reita didn’t actually seem the least bothered by Aoi’s harsh rejection, he probably didn’t even know what he’d said and meant, mind still numbed by the lingering alcohol effect.

 

“Well, your loss,” he shrugged and finally turned off the shower, wringing water out of his bleached hair with one fisting hand before taking his towel to dry it. Dropping his soaked boxers while walking past Aoi, an unexpected stumble on his way out almost tore a gasp from him and he groaned once he felt the side effect of alcohol hit him harder.

 

“Ugh, so not gonna join the next party. Have had enough nightmares,” he muttered, closing the bathroom door behind him once he was outside and pushing his scattered clothes all the way to his bed by using his foot. Once he made it to his suitcase, his eyes dropped to the back pocket of his jeans. His phone dinged with a text.

 

Kai (Sunday, 12:04 p.m.)

_Need help! It’s for tonight’s party!_

 

Reita closed his eyes and took a very deep breath.

 

_What was I saying…?_

 

Reita (Sunday, 12:05 p.m.)

_Is it that important?_

 

Kai (Sunday, 12:05 p.m.)

_Will tell you some details once you’re here!_

 

Reita (Sunday, 12:06 p.m.)

_Uh, kay. 10 minutes and I’ll be there._

Aoi peeked his head out of the bathroom door with his toothbrush still in his mouth, wanting to ask something as he noticed the I’m-so-done look on Reita’s face, but then the raven merely shook his head and disappeared back inside, slamming the door shut to startle the blond. Since his clothes were discarded to the floor, he stepped into the shower, a relieved sigh escaping him as the hot water helped his muscles to relax.

 

Once he was fully dressed, Reita looked at the bathroom with the thought of whether he should let Aoi know where he was heading buuuuuut _whatever, as if he wanted to know_ _anyway_ and he was out the door seconds later to meet with Kai at the same venue.

 

“….You look awful,” the brunet commented, blinking somewhat worriedly and sipping his cold juice. Reita stared at him before he could actually reply, folding his arms as he closed his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

 

“Are they swollen?”

 

“They look…” Kai hesitated, scanned Reita once more and gave a thumbs up. “…okay. Don’t worry.” He leaned back in his chair as he took out a piece of paper. “So here’s what’s planned for the party.” Reita leaned over so he could take a closer look at it.

 

“And what exactly do you want me to…?”

 

“We have one more room left and the competition will be on!”

 

“...Excuse me?”

 

“Ehh, you don’t know??” Kai’s excited expression turned into that of hurt as he stared at Reita in shock. “THIS! Th—“

 

“Lower your voice please—“

 

“—Thiiiiisss.” The brunet shoved the paper in Reita’s face. “The Roommate Competition!”

 

Reita grabbed the poster off his face with a frown, looking from it to Kai a few times. It was easy to guess what the grinning brunet had in his mind.

 

“…You want me and Aoi…?”

 

“Yeah, sounds interesting, right?”

 

“NO.” He felt his blood boil with anger and the paper was slammed hard against the table. “Not at all.”

 

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down boy. The competition won’t be that difficult—“

 

“That’s not what I meant—“

 

“You’ll get prizes!”

 

“…Not the least interested—“

 

“No boozes this time! Well, can’t promise you that but please take part in it!”

 

Both of them stared at one another. Kai wasn’t giving up, but neither was Reita.

 

“Kai,” he said softly, trying so hard to control his voice. “Look, Aoi and I are not in good terms and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want to do it anyway—“

 

“Writing both of your names down.”

 

“KAI!”

 

The brunet actually sighed this time, and Reita thought he was going to admit his defeat—

 

“This is your only _chance_ , Reita.”

 

But no, he wasn’t and the blond was completely at loss of words, each of the heavy words sinking in his heart as it clenched in pain and regret.

 

“But…I, you know…I said so many bad things to him and I... agh. Let me call him first…”

 

He reluctantly took out his phone, heart dropping and eyes widening once he saw the 2% of battery left. He quickly stood up from the table. “I think I’ll be going upstairs to—“

 

“Alright, you two are signed up!”

 

“What the fuck?!” Reita collapsed back in his seat, face pale in disbelief. Kai cackled.

 

“Hehe, I don’t think you’d do it without being forced to though.” He laughed, patting Reita on the shoulder. “Don’t look so upset, you two are going to enjoy it anyway!”

 

_I doubt that’s gonna happen…._

 

“Yay.”

 

“That’s the spirit!”

 

_I’m doomed, I so am._

 

***

 

Aoi was sitting on the balcony, in just his shorts and a loose shirt, crossed feet propped on a small table and an opened book in his lap. A cigarette was burning faintly between his fingers, gray smoke ascending into the air. The sunlight wasn’t extremely blinding and hot at this hour, so it provided just enough warmth to make him comfortable where he was at, the salty sea wind was just a shy blow and the faint sound from the waves crashing against the shores was a calming melody to him.

 

The door of the hotel room suddenly clicked open, and he looked up, following Reita silently with his eyes and lifting a perfect eyebrow once the blond plonked down on his bed, face buried in a pillow. He inhaled once from his cigarette.

 

“Oi.”

 

Reita grunted low in his throat and took his glasses off, folding them before he closed his eyes and nestled his head back in the soft pillow.

 

“If you have a problem with homework, you can refer to mine. It’s in the bag, you’re welcome.”

 

Aoi frowned, pursing his lips.

 

“I don’t—“ he stopped, then shook his eyes and rolled his eyes. “Okay, forget it. I’m not even surprised you brought your fucking homework with you.”

 

He sighed, smoke streaming from his lips, and concentrated back on reading his book for the next ten minutes, then looked up again after stabbing his cigarette out on the railing. 

 

“Oi.”

 

Reita creased his eyebrows, eyes still closed.

 

“What do you want? Food? Drinks? Manga? Someone to sacrifice for your boredom?”

 

 _Seriously?_ Aoi rolled his eyes and reached for a new cigarette from his pack.

 

“None of the above. Just wanted to know if you’re going to the goodbye party tonight.”

 

He lit up the new stick and inhaled from it deeply, eyeing the blond with raised brows as he waited. It took Reita a very long, silent moment.

 

“Unfortunately and surprisingly, I have to go.”

 

_Yeah, can’t lie to him anyway, but I’m still not telling him about it…who knows I could probably get murdered here?_

 

“Oh, really? Hm,” was all Aoi said in response, putting his concentration back to his book and flipping a page. Not a word more from both of them as they remained silent, letting the time pass.

 

***

 

When they visited the town in the afternoon, it was hotter, and Aoi had his hair bound up into a high pony tail to allow the occasional breeze to cool him down. Store after store after store was begging for his attention, but there was only one that caught it as he came to stand before it and interestedly eyed the belly piercings that were on full display. The white lights from above made them glint and look even more fascinating.

 

“Should it be pink…or gold?”

 

Kai looked from one bracelet to another, bending himself over a bit as he hummed, weighing the options floating in his head.

 

“Mah, can’t decide. Can’t ask Ruki because it should be a gift…”

 

He pulled back and sighed, catching sight of a familiar raven head. The thought of greeting Aoi suddenly surfaced, but he was hesitant to do it. Another thought came, _to hell with it._

 

“Yohoo~”

 

Aoi’s first reaction was getting his body lock up into a full tense at hearing that voice, even more so at the words (he’d misinterpreted ‘hoo’ as ‘hoe’). He dropped his hand from where it was about to take out a single piercing, slowly lifting his head and looking up at Kai with a glare. He seemed very on edge, like he was going to rip that mouth out of the brunet. Well, this was the guy who’d stolen his boyfriend after all.

 

“What… did you just say?”

 

Kai blinked several times, going blank for a few moments.

 

 “A greeting? A ‘yo’ and then a ‘ho’?” The brunet hummed, somehow moving closer to where Aoi was and looking at the display the raven had been giving his attention. “They look interesting, planning to buy one?”

 

He gained a frown and no reply from Aoi.

 

_What the hell does he want?_

 

“Uh…yeah.” He brought his gaze back to the silver piercings, though he was still wary of what the other’s true intention was. Kai hummed and pointed to one of the piercings.

 

“This looks the most unique. What do you think? Mmm, wait. Do you need help to decide? I may as well need someone to do it for me since I can’t decide which bracelet to buy for Mr. Busy.”

 

Still having his eyebrows creased, Aoi blinked at Kai and only threw a brief glance at whatever silver piercing the other was pointing at, then sighed, stepped back and placed a hand on the bag that was hanging over his shoulder and was settled against his hip.

 

“Kai. What _exactly_ do you want?”

 

A smile spread Kai’s lips, not looking at Aoi directly as the raven did.

 

“Why’d you ask that? Would it be too much wanting to have a normal kind of conversation with you?”

 

Still keeping up with the smile, his eyes narrowed themselves and even if they were on the piercings, his attention was on Aoi. “Instead of punching or kicking, like kids. But we’re not, school’s going to end soon for all of us, yeah?”

Aoi could only blink at Kai for about two full seconds before he finally scoffed and rolled his eyes, stepping away from the shop and the stands completely.

 

“Okay, I’m done here.”

 

He turned his back on Kai as he steered himself away, rummaging through his bag for his cigarettes. He was definitely not going to waste his afternoon with conversing with his ex’s boyfriend who was confusing as hell.

 

“Ah, you helpless _charm_.”

 

Kai sighed and shook his head, waving a hand as he yelled after Aoi.

 

“Hey, if no one has told you yet! Good luck for tonight, everyone’s looking forward to your victory.”

 

His gaze returned to the piercings, moving over to look at other accessories which were just as interesting.

 

“Sometimes I wonder what it is about you that attracts Reita like a god damn magnet. He can’t even use his genius brain to fight his way out.”

 

He appeared next to Aoi in the next moment, observing what the other was doing. Aoi took a deep steadying breath, the entire thing already sounding annoyed as he finally retrieved his cigarettes and a lighter.

 

“You may not notice this, but anyway, what I can see in his eyes, is the same as in yours.”

 

Aoi paced down the streets, Kai still following him, keeping up with him, seeing the raven stick one cigarette in his mouth and light it up, ignoring pretty much what the brunet had said although he couldn’t deny nor suppress a _tiiiiiny_ , tiny smile at the mention of Reita. He only looked at Kai again once he was sure his face was deadpan.

 

“What do you mean, _my victory_?” He exhaled a thread of smoke, not really bothering whether it was blown directly in Kai’s face or not.

 

“Eh?”

 

The corners of the brunet’s mouth twitched.

 

“Oh…. _oh_.”

 

He clapped a hand over his smiling mouth, a loud laugh fought its way out afterwards.

 

“Ouhahahaha! Oh my God!!” he snorted very hard, laughing even louder. “Oh my God, this is way more interesting than the whole fucking universe ever expected! Damn that bleached genius!”

 

He slapped Aoi’s shoulder and continued laughing as he began walking away, already doing a good job at attracting people’s attention. “You’ll see! And be prepared! Or don’t be at all. See you guys at the party tonight!”

 

Aoi narrowed his shocked eyes at Kai’s laughing, shaking form, completely confused by the his words as he hurried after the brunet, grabbing his wrist to stop him from walking and turning him around, hissing at him once they were face to face again.

 

“What the fuck are you talking about?!”

 

Kai blinked rapidly in surprise. “Calm down boy. Why don’t you ask him yourself?” He chuckled and pointed at Reita who was looking at some clothes in a clothing store just a few feet away from them. Kai yanked his wrist from Aoi’s grip harshly.

 

Aoi swallowed and gritted his teeth, darting a quick glance over to where Reita was but shook his head, voice clenched with anger.

 

“No way.”

 

He turned back around to return to the piercing store, inhaling from his cigarette in the process. The brunet scratched his head as he watched Aoi leave.

 

“Damn that guy is difficult. Well, geniuses like difficult things anyway.”

 

He whistled as headed to some other stores, meeting Ruki in the middle of the way just in time to see the satisfied look on his face with lots of shopping bags in his arms.

 

Reita was looking back and forth between different designs of bandanas, torn between going for the fusion of floral and edgy patterns or the religious symbols. Both of them looked equally interesting… should he buy the two of them? Startled, he suddenly jumped once he felt a finger poking his shoulder, turning around questioningly.

 

“Yes?”

 

He was met eye to eye with a third year who kind of seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite tell who it was.

 

“Your room is 114, right?”

 

“Yeah…” Reita nodded slowly to confirm, not actually sure why a strange feeling began forming in his stomach. His heart dropped instantly when he saw the other take out a keycard and hand it to him.

 

“The keycard.”

 

“Ah, thanks.” The blond took it, somehow the faint red dusting the other’s cheeks going noticed by him… and Reita suddenly felt his jaw fall.

 

“…You—“

 

“Yeah, about the kiss—“

 

“ _Accident_ ,” Reita rushed to say, laughing nervously as he felt absolutely ashamed, eyes not daring to look at the other. Fuck, he really had the same kind of hair like Aoi (although slightly shorter)! And at this moment he really wished he could rip his drunk self for causing this mess!

 

“It was nothing. Sorry ‘bout that.”

 

The raven head before him smiled.

 

“It’s fine. My name’s Mamoru by the way, class 3-D.”

 

He looked over at the material Reita was holding with interested eyes, the smile widening. “That looks nice.”

 

“Umh,” Reita hesitated for a split second, had been afraid he’d sounded offensive just now, but the calm, smiling lips were relieving to him and he figured everything had gone alright. Maybe the other wasn’t the type who took things seriously, so he was, in a sense, safe. “It does, right?”

 

Aoi stopped in front of the jewellery shop from earlier, having finally calmed the pounding in his head after talking to Kai and turning around to watch other tourists walking through the streets. And of course, he ended up searching for Reita.

 

But the sight of the blond with THAT guy surfaced a heavy frown between his drawn eyebrows. Damn, they were even talking to one another, all smiling and laughing?! Un-fucking-believable. Shaking his head and glaring holes into Mamoru’s back, Aoi gritted his teeth and exhaled a puff of smoke, quickly looking away once his and Reita’s eyes met. He threw the finished cancer stick to the floor and crashing it with his foot, and he loved imagining that either the blond’s or the annoying guy’s face was beneath his angry-filled action.

 

_Take that, fucker._

 

Finished, he darted another quick glance at Reita, face wearing a sour look before he disappeared inside the shop to finally actually BUY something.

 

_Erk... Yeah, I’m dead soon…_

 

“Reita! Look at this one!”

 

Reita glanced at Mamoru before he contemplated for a second, his mind still somewhere far and clouded with the thoughts of seeing angry Aoi in that shop.

 

“It looks great, but let’s pay now,” he offered a small smile, walking fast towards the desk while holding a few clothes in his arms. Mamoru followed after him with his own chosen shirts. After the blond was done with the purchase, he thanked the worker and turned to look at the raven head, already preparing a smile.

 

“Hey, I think I’m going to—“

 

“Let’s grab something to eat.” Mamoru curved a smile in return, but Reita’s fell at that instant, however going unnoticed as the other pointed to a food stand a few meters away from the shop. There were a few people waiting in the line, so he understood why Mamoru had chosen that one. The food must be delicious, but anyway…

 

Reita honestly couldn’t hide the conflict written on his face, feeling like he should hide that by turning around to search for Aoi, but since he was nowhere in sight, the blond heaved a small sigh, said, “Sure, why not?” and fell into steps, taking out his phone.

 

Reita (Sunday, 4:43 p.m.)

_Hey, got your keycard…want me to give it to you here or once we’re back at the hotel?_

 

“The black one is a good choice, you’re pale so it contrasts really beautifully with your skin.”

 

Aoi watched the seller wrap the two piercings he’d bought into some plastic wrap as he spoke, smiling at the genuine compliment once he received the items.

 

“Thank you,” he bowed briefly before turning to take his leave from the shop, but was stopped short by the other man.

 

“Hey, wait!” He came up to Aoi around the counter, and the raven could see the slightly nervous look mixed with the expectant smile on his lips, and _god_ , that was actually charming.

 

“You wouldn’t want to go out for a drink tonight? Or are you a part of the group that’s at the hotel at the moment?”

 

Taken by surprise, Aoi’s eyes went wide, looking at the other, checking him out and indeed considering the offer for a second but deep inside he knew he… couldn’t, he just _couldn’t_. So as a polite response, he nodded with a soft smile.

 

“Yeah, I am. And, sorry, but…” He cleared his clenched throat. Where did that lump come from? And he looked around unsurely, to make it easier for him to take a deep breath. “But I, uh... I’m taken.”

 

The other guy tsked. “Ah, what a shame. He’s a lucky fellow, I bet.”

 

He might probably even try to cover up the disappointment in his voice by laughing a little and pointing towards the open door of the shop. “Ah well, then keep on enjoying your trip.”

 

Aoi joined in with the laughing –had to, he truly felt sorry for the guy—and bowed again. “Thank you, again. I will.”

 

He waved at him before finally leaving the shop, only then pulling out his phone that he’d been feeling vibrate earlier. The message from Reita made him frown and type a reply as he walked down the street, looking up merely a brief second to check where he was actually heading but OF COURSE ended up spotting the blond and _the guy_ at a food stand. What a fucking frustrating sight. Aoi scoffed to himself, took a moment to calm himself and typed his text again.

 

Aoi (Sunday, 4:57 p.m.)

_Nah, you go enjoy your newfound love, I don’t mind getting the card later on. I’m heading back now._

“A-what?”  Reita couldn’t help but frown at the text.

 

“What?” Mamoru turned to look at him with a tilt of his head, mouth munching on his food.

 

“Sorry,” the blond sucked in a deep breath, smiling tightly. “Nothing, just…” he dropped his attention back to his phone as he wrote down his reply.

 

Reita (Sunday, 5 p.m.)

_But you still have to wait for me though because you don’t have the keycard. Unless if you’re planning to go somewhere else after this._

 

What Reita hadn’t been aware of was Kai, who’d been watching the blond with a very dissatisfied face from where he stood behind him and the stranger. Feeling absolutely done, he suddenly sighed ever so loudly, rolling his eyes.

 

“You’re too soft. Gimme that.”

 

Without a proper warning, Kai snatched Reita’s phone and wrote a text to Aoi. A shock-filled shriek from Reita rang through Kai’s ears, and he grabbed his phone back, going pale as he stared at the new sent text, almost losing his grip around the device.

 

Reita (Sunday, 5:02 p.m.)  
A _RE YOU JEALOUS THOUGH?_

 

“What—Why did you do that?!”

 

Seeing the other two’s interaction made Mamoru look all concerned and confused at the same time. “Is there anything wrong?”

 

Kai slung one arm around Reita’s neck, who was already groaning and fuming with silent anger, and regarded the other with a smile.

 

“Nope.” He mindlessly took one of the guy’s French fries, popping it in his mouth and humming at the salty taste that had been coated with mayonnaise and chilli sauce.

 

“Reita, are you dead yet?” He let out a laugh the moment he saw the blond’s eyes narrowed at him in response, and he ruffled the bleached hair.

 

“Fuck you, man.”

 

 Aoi was strolling through the city and towards the outskirts and the hill the hotel was built on when his phone vibrated again. Pulling his phone out to read the two messages, he stopped in his tracks for a while.

 

“What??”

 

Tightening his grip around the slim device until his knuckles turned white, he snorted and typed a huge message on his phone about who Reita even thought he was and why on earth Aoi should be-

 

He ended up deleting it all and only wrote a response that fit to both messages.

 

Aoi (Sunday, 17:13 p.m.)

_I’ll survive._

 

Once again, he snorted and shoved his phone back into his pocket, continuing to make his way up the hill though once he arrived at the hotel, the little garden situated on the other side was where he was actually headed. Shoes, socks and jacket off, he sighed and savored the feeling of the cool, soft grass caressing the soles of his feet, placing his bag down beside him before lying down on the natural green mat and closing his eyes to enjoy the sun.

 

Reita was such an idiot.

 

“Shit, Kai!” Reita struggled to escape from Kai’s hold and stopped once his phone dinged with a received text, opening it. The brunet leaned closer to take a look at it, face twisted with a doubt.

 

“Ah, will he?” He suddenly shook the poor blond. “WILL HE??”

 

“I-I don’t know—“ The blond countered by pushing the other away, looking at him weirdly. “But why would he be jealous when he doesn’t like… have the same feelings…?”

 

“Who?”                    

 

It was obvious, Mamoru, was a bit on edge. Kai narrowed his eyes silently at the raven head, already oozing out an aura of _stay the fuck away already_.

 

“Don’t stick your nose in somebody else’s business.”

 

“…As if you’re not doing that…” Reita shook his head with a mutter.

 

“I’m just helping out man.” Kai lifted his chin, gave a thumbs up and started dragging Reita away, leaving Mamoru alone. As if he cared anyway. “That guy is dangerous, stay away from him.”

 

“My, you’re doing your job very well.” Reita said it dryly, no longer had the strength to push Kai away this time. Feeling like he should let Aoi know –he’d been wanting to do it— he took out his phone once more.

 

Reita (Sunday, 5:33 p.m.)

_Sorry, that was Kai, I didn’t write that…and am on my way to the hotel now. Where are you though?_

No matter how much Aoi wanted to do it, he couldn’t honestly stay silent for too long, even though he ignored the ding of his phone, one of his hands had to check the message out. Once it did, the raven laughed and lifted a brow at Reita’s text, typing a reply.

 

Aoi (Sunday, 17:37 p.m.)

_In the garden, waiting for the King to allow me entrance to his castle._

 

It was probably the realization of how ironic his own text actually was that Aoi pursed his lips in thoughts. He threw his phone aside as he refused to delve deeper into these thoughts and reached for his cigarette, taking off the rubber band that bound his soft nightmare hair and letting it flutter in the mild breeze.

 

Reita stared at the screen of his phone, the latest reply from the other left his mind wander around for a moment to dig out the meaning behind it. His eyes finally blinked after a long moment as he kept walking along with Kai, unsure whether he should send his response to Aoi.

 

“Hm.”

 

“What’s with that look, huh?” Kai nudged Reita with a knowing grin. “Allow me to read the—“

 

“No,” Reita quickly shook his head, bringing his phone out of the other’s reach. “No more... you’ve done enough.”

 

“What?”

 

“See you tonight,” Reita made his way over to the hotel’s garden. “Until later, Kai.”

 

“Huh, hey where are you going? The—“ Kai stopped himself as something clicked inside him that caused the same grin to appear on his mouth and him to wave at Reita. “Okay then.”

 

Without a word, the blond waved back at him before he turned around, proceeding to head forward and find the beautiful garden. He arrived at said place moments later, allowing himself to not disturb the calming afternoon silence as he took in the breathtaking surroundings, there were wooden benches and swings, but none of them were occupied by Aoi. But it didn’t take him long to spot the raven’s whereabouts in the garden, walking over to him with quiet, measured steps until he could actually voice out softly, his body bent at the waist so his head was hanging above Aoi’s.

 

“If you intend to stay here any longer, just let me know.”

 

A flicker of a wince at the sudden sound of Reita’s voice appeared on Aoi’s face, although it was barely noticeable, a light frown on his forehead, and he almost rolled his eyes as kept them closed and merely lifted a hand.

 

“Just give me the fucking card.”

 

“Yes, your highness,”” Reita chuckled a little with amusement and took out said card. “Though, your hand is held out in the other direction.” He used his free hand to pull at Aoi’s so that it was positioned correctly, heart warming faintly at how smooth it was against his rough one.

 

“Here,” he placed the keycard and –somehow shakily- wrapped Aoi’s fingers around it. “Alright, I’m gonna go upstairs first.”

 

Reluctance was slowly taking form in his body, but then, no matter how bad he wanted to _stay_ there, just so he could spend every little precious, irreversible second with the raven—

 

He betrayed his body’s demand, straightening and moving away as he started heading inside the hotel building, not a glance spared over his shoulder..

 

Aoi did spare a glance though as he sighed and sat up, turning his head to cast a look after Reita and watching him disappearing.

 

_What on earth are we doing to each other?_


	7. Chapter 7

The bright sky above had been dimmed by shades of dark blue and soft pink that were gradually taking up most of the space, before finally revealing the bright stars and making the crescent silver moon even more prominent in all its glory, welcoming them to the second party that was soon to be held.

 

All the third years were getting ready and excited for it and Reita and Aoi were definitely included. Reita wasn’t as enthusiastic as most of the others but still, a party was a party and it would be the last one for this field trip, and probably for their senior year. No matter whether he liked it or not due to past experiences or last evening’s party, he’d still join.

 As Aoi was getting dressed in a new pair of tight fitting light grey jeans, an eyeliner stick wedged between his teeth, there was a sudden realization hitting him and clouded his eyes with uncomfortable curiosity, making his legs stop from moving about and him call for Reita who was in the bathroom. 

“Oi! Ooii!” He took the eyeliner out of his mouth and headed towards said place, wearing nothing but those button-still-open jeans. The bathroom door was unlocked and slightly ajar, so he pushed it open wider by the time he reached it and leaned against the doorframe, watching Reita who was brushing his teeth with one eyebrow lifted at him.

“Oi. Kai talked to me today. Said something about…a victory that everyone’s looking forward to? Do you…” Aoi mirrored Reita’s raised eyebrow with both of his own.   
“…know anything that I should know?” 

Reita’s first reaction was the unexpected choke he couldn’t contain, then a painful cough to dispose the minty alkaline foam in his mouth into the sink.

 

_Shit! I fucking forgot about it._

Swallowing with difficulties, he quickly turned on the water, rinsed his mouth and toothbrush, not daring to look at Aoi’s face as he hesitantly muttered under his breath, the tone alone almost killed his voice. 

“…Uh, I’ll tell you later?” What really made him feel like he should kill himself already was how he was now laughing – a bit – awkwardly and drying his hands and face with a towel. “It’s nothing special, really.” 

_I’m not lying, am I?_

 

But like hell Aoi was buying that. 

The raven scoffed, reached forward and yanked the towel away from Reita’s grip, eyes dangerously narrowed at the startled blond.

“No. You tell me NOW. Why do I feel like you did something that I won’t particularly LIKE?” 

Reita stared at his hands behind his glasses, still not quite believing they were closing around air before he dared a glance at the frustrated impatience-filled Aoi, however darting his eyes away as quick as they’d landed on the raven. 

“I didn’t do anything, to be precise.” He began almost inaudibly, unable to have enough time and courage to gather and arrange words in his head. “In fact, I was…forced…to, against my will? If that makes sense?”

_Please believe me, oh my God. Please, please…_

His eyes dropped low and froze in place, at a certain target, at a distraction. “And uh, your jeans are still unbuttoned…” He instinctively grabbed the distracting waistband of Aoi’s jeans, who frowned hard at him, jerking the fabric a bit upwards and fastening that one button. “There.” 

Aoi eyed him now with an even more doubtful look. 

“ _Suzuki_.”

He grabbed one of the blond’s wrists and pushed it away from his jeans, pinning Reita intently with his eyes as he forced the two sharp, venomous words through clenched teeth. 

“ _Tell me_.” 

The confession spilled from Reita’s mouth like a waterfall. 

“It-it was Kai who forced me,” he felt a brick slam right onto his head, tipping it down to cast his regret filled gaze to the ground, to the phone he had just fished out and somehow he managed to force himself to laugh – rather nervously- after checking the displayed time. 

“Umh, you don’t wanna be late for the party, right? Yeah??” Lips tightening to an awkward smile, he instantly placed his hands on Aoi’s bare waist, changing their positions so then he could face the doorway and was now out of the bathroom in no time.

 

“Shoes, shoes, shoes,” his heart jumped up to his throat when he nearly knocked his phone against a wall.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck!_

 

He sent a text to Kai.

 

Reita (Sunday, 8:43 p.m.)

_IS THERE NO WAY ELSE TO QUIT THE COMPETITION?!?_

 

Kai sent a reply in record speed.

 

Kai (Sunday, 8:43 p.m.)

_Too late buddy :D Good luck nyahahaha_

“Fuck.” He internally sobbed to himself after reading it as he began putting on his shoes. “Fuck, what has my life become now…”

 

“What the—??” Aoi swirled around in complete surprise and confusion, staring at Reita’s back with wide eyes, both hands halfway lifted in the air. “Hello? What the fuck is going on??”

He groaned, headed over to his clothes though to finally put his shirt on. He was way quicker than Reita, running to the front door and blocking the blond’s way as he pressed his back against it and glared at the other. 

“You’re not going anywhere unless you tell me what the two of you have planned.” 

Reita stared up at the other in shock, halfway tying the string of his shoes and mouth falling open and shutting itself a couple times. 

“I-I didn’t plan it…! Before I knew it, he was already signing up both of our names…” He stood up very slowly, frowning hard as he tried to think of ways to get through the door, finally figuring one out but… 

 _God, just to hell with it…_  

His hands shot out to grab Aoi’s wrists and pulled the raven off the door, switching their positions, but before that even happened, and because it was irresistible, he somehow managed to briefly catch the other’s lips in a quick kiss, and before he could take his time to savor the sweet sensation, he pulled away, yanked the door open and was out running along the hallway and down the stairs. 

_Shit, shit, shit._

The raven could only stand there, unmoving from where Reita had left him, blinking several times and feeling completely dumbfounded. He swallowed, one hand lifted to his lips, touching them with his fingertips gently as he stared at the ground. 

“What…”

He cleared his throat to pull himself out of his trance, shaking his head as if to get rid of the memory and lingering taste of that brief kiss.

_It was nothing, it must be **nothing**. _

But right after he headed back to the bathroom to finish his makeup, a smile appeared on his lips.

 

***

 

Reita stood in front of the entrance of the room where the previous party had taken place, where the irreversible incident had happened and the current one was being held. He seriously didn’t want to head inside, knowing how fucked he would be once he did, but if he didn’t, Kai would hunt him down the whole evening and night, no matter what. So with a deep sigh, he tried to shake off any bothering thoughts, already spotting the brunette waving at him.

“Great to see you show up! I can’t wait to see the competition start!” He said as he practically skipped over to where Reita was unconsciously standing. 

“Umh, yeah….” He pulled an unwilling smile and noticed how Kai was restlessly looking over his shoulder, left and right, a confused look written across his face. 

“Wait, where’s your roommate??”

“On his way, perhaps…” Reita trailed off, starting to move to where food and drinks were served and Kai followed him without another question.

Aoi finished his look completely about half an hour later, already hearing all the other students laughing and chattering on the hallway so after one last satisfying check-up on his reflection in the mirror, he quickly slipped into his shoes and adjusted his hair before heading outside, of course not forgetting his key card this time. He was being welcomed by some girls and joined them in heading down to where the party was. 

“Are you taking part in the competition too?” Reita absently nursed his drink, hoping the brunet was in it too, because instead of only getting embarrassed and laughed at by his friend while the whole thing went on, he would love to do the same thing to him. He nudged the brunet when he didn’t reply. “Hey, Kai.”

 

“Ooff, god damn it.” Kai groaned when he almost choked on his shrimp tempura, then shot Reita a glare. “What? Oh,” he placed down his spoon on his plate, taking his time to swallow the food and answer. He began with a slightly amused laugh. “Well _, no_ , I’m the emcee. Why should I join?”  

Reita almost slid and fell off his seat, but he instantly pulled himself to straighten upright and bark, “WHAT?!”

He grabbed the front of the other’s shirt and shook him out of frustration, nearly cutting off Kai’s circulation that instant. “Are you—are you fucking kidding me?!” 

 _I should’ve known!!_  

“I-I’m not! Whoa dude! You’re killing me! Stop it!!” Kai tried to wrestle back, but stopped altogether when his expression changed into a triumphant one and he suddenly howled in Reita’s face. 

“The prince is here. Go greet him, your Highness.” 

Of course Reita knew who Kai was talking about, and it beat him up, his strength draining from his clutching grip on the brunet’s collar. He literally sank into the chair he was sitting on, wanting to hide himself so badly, from both Aoi and the upcoming competition. 

The raven darted a quick glance at Reita and Kai, feeling a bit unsettled and annoyed when the latter kept on staring at him with a smirk as if he was some sort of entertainment, but he didn’t want to bother himself with it, with _him,_ so he dragged his attention and feet away to where his friends were at, along with some girls. 

“Oi, Aoi, I heard you’re taking part in the roommate competition going on tonight?” 

His friend’s statement made him look up from the glass he’d just received and he frowned. “I’m _what_?”

Takashi frowned back, hesitantly continuing with his words after reading Aoi’s reaction. “Uh…I took a sneak peek at Kai’s list earlier with all the competitors on it and you and Reita are on it.”

 

Aoi blinked, nostrils flaring as he digested the information and he tsked, gripping his glass hard and leaning back in order to be able to look towards where Kai and Reita were sitting before he exclaimed rather loudly so his voice could reach them, _him_. 

“REITA!!” 

The blond jumped in his seat and paled instantly as he heard that, trying to shift his position so that he wasn’t showing his face to the raven, one hand covering half of it.

 _Shit, shit!!_  

And Kai was definitely enjoying this no less. He suddenly rose from where he was, taking a wireless microphone from a student as he settled one foot on the edge of a table, full with determination. 

“All of the contestants are here! Are you ready, everyone?! You better are! ‘Cause the competition is going to start on the count of 3, 2,” Other students chanted along with him, some were already laughing. “1!!”

The room was suddenly enveloped in darkness, until two, three and four multi-colored spotlights were switched on with Kai already standing in the middle of the floor with one of the lights focused on him.

“Alright, alright. This is Kai, your emcee for this competition, as assigned by our one and only great Mr. President!”

He winked at Ruki who saluted at him. “The Roommate Competition! The climax of our field trip! I’m so, so, looking forward to everyone to enjoy themselves and nowww let’s call upon the participants to reveal who they are!” he smoothed open a folded paper and held it in front of his face, chuckling a little to himself. 

“I’ve to say, I’m kinda surprised there’s no females on this list, but maybe you girls prefer watching rather than joining so I expect to hear lots of screams of encouragement from your sweet voices!” He received laughter of approval from them and laughed along slightly. “Room 122! Yuji and Hasegawa, Room…” he continued calling the room numbers and names out until, “And lastly, Room 114! Reita and Aoi!” 

Aoi didn’t move, didn’t want to move, with his legs and arms rebelliously crossed and eyes glaring up through the half dark surrounding Kai and Reita, who was still sitting at the back. He gritted his teeth and shook his head very slowly, almost unnoticeably at Kai. 

Takashi looked from Aoi to Reita and back to the raven. “Oi, Aoi, aren’t you gonna—“

“No.” was his curt reply. 

“Ey, where’s—“ Kai squinted through the dim lit area, after checking up other participants. When he noticed the two weren’t making a single move to come to the front, he practically shouted through the microphone. “GET OUT! REITA! AOI! YOU TWO PUSSIES!” Waves of laughter immediately resounded from the whole room, Aoi’s fangirls weren’t resting either, as they cheered for him to make his appearance.

 

“Please! Aoi-kuuuunn!” 

“We’ll support you!” 

Reita’s head collided with the edge of the table, nearly hitting his glasses, shoulders sagging after he took a deep breath and massaging the frown between his crooked eyebrows, he got up and sluggishly headed to where the other contestants were standing.

 

“…Here.” 

Aoi glared daggers at Kai’s smirk, but eventually forced himself to stand up, walking over to stand beside Reita, without forgetting to give him his most sugar sweet smile ever.

 “I am going to kill you.”

He folded his arms over his chest, drumming his tense fingers on his arms for a few seconds.

 "I’m not the one who—“

 “Slowly.”

 The blond stared, swallowed and then sighed deeply as he looked away, not having the desire to argue further, since it was no longer of use.

“Good luck to both of us.”

"Good luck to everyone! Thank you very much for taking part in this competition! I am so proud you’re all eager about this and I can see that!” Kai laughed and clapped his hands as a cue for the music to start playing. “I know you’re all excited! And because you hate waiting, let’s proceed with the first round which isssss—“

 Something dinged twice along with the sound of drum rolling until a banner was rolled down from the ceiling.

"’How Well Do You Know Your Roommate’! Since everyone got their own roommate to share a room with RANDOMLY back at the school, we’d like to test your knowledge about each other!” Kai spun around before he spread an arm. “Alright, now decide who should be the first one to answer! Make it quick!”

Reita asked without looking at Aoi. “Do you want to be the first one?” And received a thrown, annoyed glance in return. The raven bent forward slightly so he could take a look at other room pairings, roll his eyes and wave a hand dismissively. 

“Fine with me.”

“Alright, alright.” Kai began and everyone muted their conversations so they could hear him. “Here’s how you play the game: you both will take turns in answering the questions! Don’t take too much time! ‘Cause if you do, you’d most likely get a penalty and it wouldn’t be pretty, I tell you. So, first question! What’s your roommate’s favorite color?”

 Aoi had seated himself down on one of the chairs (one of the fangirls had offered him), crossing his legs and arms and frowning back and forth between Kai and Reita.

 

“I…” _have no idea_. “Uh…Yellow?” He lifted an eyebrow at Reita. “Yellow, maybe?” 

Kai swivelled his head and raised his eyebrows at Reita, who shook his head gently, chuckling softly. 

“No.” He stopped once when he saw Kai mouthing something, looking unimpressed at the same time. “It’s blue.”

“Next question is for Reita! What’s Aoi’s favorite food?” 

It sounded easy but it was difficult for Reita, because even this little thing of Aoi, he didn’t know. 

He blanked out for a moment, blinking several times and registering the looks of the raven’s fangirls that were mocking him, knowing well how it would turn out. 

“Ummh….spaghetti?” Of course, he felt a bit bothered by the murmurs going around. 

Aoi snorted and laughed for a moment, clearing his throat and shaking his head. “You failed. It’s sashimi. Spaghetti is YOUR favorite food.” He grinned knowingly at Reita, throwing a questioning glance up at Kai again. The brunet fumbled with the cards in his hands. 

“Well,” he said, glancing once at Reita and mouthing silently ‘gosh, you guys suck’. “No marks yet for Room 114! How about other pairings?” He left the two to ask the others around, a few of them getting their answers correct. 

Reita scratched the back of his head, mumbling sulkily to himself as he folded his arms. “I didn’t know it’s sashimi.”

 

_This is getting boring already, damn it Kai._

“Aaaandd I’m back!” He startled Reita as he stood back in front of him. “What? Slacking off already? Jeez,” Throat cleared, he read from a card. “Next is…to Aoi, what’s Reita passionate about?” He held the mic in Aoi’s way. “If you can list more than two facts, you can get extra marks!” 

The raven tipped his head back to hold his chin up, fingers drumming on his arm as he looked up at Kai, then at Reita thoughtfully. The answer came from his mouth flawlessly.

 “Maths. His glasses. He loves his glasses.” His lips were pulled into a teasing smirk, though a sudden thought came invading his mind, begging and tempting to be released through his smirking lips.

 

_And **me**. _

 

But he clamped and swallowed that all the way down, because it wasn’t necessary, as he told and convinced himself. 

“Uhh, what else…Homework.” He laughed a little because he couldn’t think of anything more that was NOT school related. Reita looked embarrassed as he averted his gaze.

“Yes, they’re all correct.”

 

_But some weren’t mentioned._

 

“Ah, a complete package of our greatest nerd. Who doesn’t know that though?” Kai laughed, snorting once Reita pierced him with a glare and not feeling threatened by it in the slightest. “Okay, Room 114 has finally scored some marks! Looks like this room has the same points as Room 139! Now Reita!” 

“Uh,” _What now?_ “Okay, I’m ready for the next question.” He eyed Kai warily, and said question really made his face fall when it was being read out.

“What makes your roommate sad?” 

“Huh? Is that even a question…?” He creased his eyebrows, feeling helpless by the time Kai nodded a yes. “I-I don’t—“ He began to shake his head slowly.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Aoi is always,” he pulled a tiny smile.

 

_I know I’m lying, but…_

 

“ _happy_. I find it hard to detect any sadness in him. Though there are times he’s pissed off at me, mad at me. Before this he really ‘bullied’ me a lot—“ 

“Ouh…kay, Reita—“ 

“And he—“ 

“Reita, Reitaaaaa, okay dude. Stop, stop please. You’re deviating now.” Kai patted the blond’s arm and laughed a little to cheer up the room that had actually become silent since a few seconds earlier. 

“Oh,” Reita couldn’t help the blush on his embarrassed face. “Sorry, I just…never mind.” He shook his head, laughing a bit. 

 Aoi had, of course, noticed the silence hanging in the room, eyes glued hard to Reita’s face with his frown growing the more the blond spoke, then tsked once Kai announced that another room was getting their question now. He hissed over to Reita. 

“As I said, I’m going to kill you.” 

Reita frowned his eyebrows back at Aoi, wondering to himself why he even fell for that _kind_ of guy.

 

“Fine, you can do it once this competition ends.”

But Aoi ignored him.

“And I guess that’s all for the first round!” Kai yelled from the other side of the area, spinning once so he could head to the score board.

 “As you can see, Room 122 scored the lowest marks! Which makes them??” 

The audience shouted. “DISQUALIFIED!” 

Reita’s gaze slid over the list, Room 114 was on the third lowest rank and he felt a bit proud with the achievement. 

“Well, not bad I guess.”

 “Next challenge is to test your physical ability!”

_Please, please, some Maths questions or —_

“Wait.” Reita paused. “Wait—“

The audience’s scream was priceless, “WHAT?!” 

“Now nowww calm your lovely asses down, shh shhh, calm down.” Kai strolled over to a throne-like seat, laughing as he looked at everyone’s faces, tilted the microphone to his mouth after bracing his arm on the arm rest. “Decide either one of you to do it! Don’t waste my time, people!” 

“Uhh,” Reita looked over to Aoi, “I’ll do it.”

Aoi frowned even more and heaved a groan of annoyance, waving a hand again. “Yeah, fine with me, whatever.” He got up from his chair just to leave it and get his cocktail, the girls lining along the way were giggling excitedly at his approach at which he flirtingly smirked, then non-chalantly returned to his seat next to Reita, throwing him a ‘what’s up?’ glance while sipping from his straw. 

The blond could only roll his eyes as a response and look at the evil grin that had just made its appearance on Kai’s mouth. The brunet flicked his wrist and checked the time on his watch.

“Ne hee, time’s up, huh? Yes, time’s up!” He made a signal out of his gestured hand. “The next round is, as I said, a physical challenge. Well, to clarify that, the one who’s decided to do it is still going to get involved with their roommate, and vice versa, wherebyyyy,” he looked over to the second banner that had been rolled down and grinned.

"’Who’s The Strongest Among You?’! Well, the first room that doesn’t manage to stand long is going to be disqualified first. EH-no, no. I’m not done yet! Sit back down in your seat!” He yelled at someone in the audience.

“I just need to go to the toilet, dude!” The guy fired back, gaining laughter from the entire of the room and Kai himself. 

“Okay, fine, go ahead! Huh, okay then. Room 114 is Reita, Room 139…” He smiled at all of the people whose names had already been mentioned. “The maximum time is ten minutes, whereby all four of you are going to lift up your roommates in bridal style.”

 

_B-bridal—what?_

 

Aoi’s face turned deadpan, staring at the brunet long enough before glancing at Reita, tossing him a ‘don’t you dare’ glance. 

“ _No_. Just no.” He grated out, looking up at Kai again, the cocktail in his grip shook from his clenching grip. “NO.” 

Reita bit his lip as he stared at Kai, opening his faltering mouth to protest. 

“I don’t think—“ 

“It’s started!” Kai shrieked in Reita’s direction.

“I just—“ 

“I said it’s already STARTED!! Look at other pairings! You two don’t want a penalty, right?!” Kai spread one arm to indicate the other pairings were absolutely not having problems with this second round and Reita saw that, grumbling something and cursing a flurry of insults at Kai who simply dismissed him.

Turning around so he could face Aoi without actually looking at his face or even the raven’s fangirls, Reita slid one of his arms around Aoi’s legs and the other curving around the back, and with not so much effort he lifted the other up into his arms.

 

Aoi rolled his dark eyes and reluctantly wrapped his arms around Reita’s neck. “This is so ridiculous…” he cast a glance at Kai before doing the same thing to the blond, shying back once he noticed how close their faces were, the light blush dusting over the crests of his cheekbones barely visible in the half-dark of the party room. “You could stand here for half an hour so don’t pull such an annoyed face.” 

“…If you could at least give me some encouraging words, I might consider not dropping you down.”

 Aoi’s eyes widened in surprise at the blond’s words and he thumped his chest with a fist.

“Don’t you dare!” 

“You’re…” Reita wasn’t bothered by the feeble punch and he experimentally lowered his arms and lifted them back up, bringing Aoi back to press up against his chest. “Quite light, I’m grateful.” He tried to breathe in smoothly, however quickly swallowing once the raven’s scent filled him whole and heated up his cheeks. And he – perhaps Aoi, too— didn’t even register how noisy the room was.

“What, are you saying I’m too thin? Pah.” The raven couldn’t stop himself from smiling a little but hid it under a pout, turning his head to look at another pairing that had already given up.

“Aaaaaa this one has already fallen apart! It’s not even two minutes guys!” Kai shook his head, giving a sad look at them with that fake pout on his lips. 

“Aww, looks like Minato doesn’t have a roommate as strong as mine.” Aoi grinned at the poor pairing teasingly.

 _Is that a compliment?_ Reita thought to himself, but didn’t ask the raven about it and bit the inside of his lip instead to prevent himself from letting the aching smile grow and show. 

“Too bad for them, huh? I suppose he doesn’t have the stamina.” He leaned in and knocked his forehead against Aoi’s gently, a little chuckle rumbling from his chest. “And nah, thin sounds negative. Slim is the best connotation to describe you, I could even throw you over my shoulder quite easily.”

Silence took over his mouth for a split second.

“Aren’t you…feeling awkward with all of this though?”

Aoi seemed a bit taken aback by the overall suggestiveness of Reita’s words and the sudden forehead-touching, tsking and turning his head away with a lifted eyebrow.

 

“Calm your horses, Suzuki.” He darted a quick glance through the corner of his eye, fingers tightening into the fabric covering Reita’s shoulder. “And of course I feel awkward, don’t you?”

With a resigned sigh, his body sagged in the blond’s arms. “Let’s just get this over with already…” 

Blinking rather dumbfoundedly, Reita spoke his confusion. “What? I’m not talking about… I think you misinterpreted what I said.” He gave a shrug of his shoulders.

 Throwing Aoi over his shoulder really did sound appealing and the image itself _actually_ wouldn’t be so bad at all.

“Not until I’ve used up all of my energy and…” he continued, hesitating to speak next because he could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment. “Sorry about the kiss earlier, that was—“ Something unsettling stole his attention, or rather, someone. And it was Mamoru, but it wasn’t the guy himself who had Reita unable to carry on with his sentence, it was the intensity of his unreadable expression that did. Mamoru had never looked like this when they were out shopping together earlier today.

 So why? What had caused it? Who had caused it?

Should he be bothered?

“We need one more pairing to lose!” Kai’s voice cut through the music-filled atmosphere. “Which one of these three rooms is going to end up with the same fate like the failed ones?! It’s been six minutes now!” 

At this, Aoi looked at the pairing on their right side briefly to check on how they were doing, laughing a little to himself because they already seemed to be struggling, then went back to look at Reita, though he noticed the blond’s eyes weren’t directed at him anymore. Immediately getting who he was looking at without even sparing a frustrated glance in the direction, he rolled his eyes.

“Oh God, don’t look at him like this, you’ll only get his hopes up.”

“And Room 114 and Room 139 are going to the last round!”

“Huh?” Reita finally tore his gaze away, trying to understand and believe what he’d just heard. “His…hopes?”

 

_What does that mean?_

 

“Ey, those two.” Kai facepalmed once and yelled over the poor microphone. “This round is over! You two succeeded so congrats for that. And Reita, you can put him down now, unless you have something else in mind but save it for later! Because now everyone, two rooms are left and they’re competing against each other!”

 Reita could no longer hide the obvious blush on his face at Kai’s words, and could only mumble ‘okay’ as he placed Aoi down on his feet, helping him balance himself without touching him too much.

Aoi only rolled his eyes sideways, stepping away from Reita after he had his balance back and crossing his arms again after taking a sip from his drink that he’d left on his chair.

“Please tell me this is the last round, Kai.”

 

“Ah, you didn’t hear me, eh?” Kai shook his head, chuckling. A devil’s chuckle. “Yes, of course this is the last round. Well, take your seats, the four of you! Roommate facing roommate! Here here,” he patted a table. “With this separating you! This time it involves food! Don’t worry you poor creatures, your sufferings will be gone soon! But not before you complete this challenge first.”

 “Okay,” Reita nodded and thought how amazing it was, even if it was a little achievement, that both he and Aoi had come this far. And so far, it was admittedly quite enjoyable, going through and fighting for the competition with Aoi. Even though it seemed like he was the only one who thought that way.

 He did as Kai told, but suddenly jumped in his seat once he felt two smaller, but strong hands grabbing his own out of nowhere to pull his arms backwards. He gasped once he felt his wrists were being tied by….a rope?

 “What even—?” He stared at Kai as a student did the same thing to the other room pairing and Aoi, who gaped at the person tying him up.

 “What the hell?? Are you kidding??” He yanked at the rope with an annoyed groan, glaring at Kai and Reita.

 The brunet sighed, faking sobs and dramatically wiping away an imaginary tear with a hand. “I can’t believe this competition is going to end so soon! Alright, enough with the stupid tears! The final round everyone! Iiiissss—“ he widened his stretched grin as the last banner of the night was rolled down, revealing the big black letters.

“Nose Nuzzling Competition!”

“HUH?!” This was more mind-wrecking than the bridal style, but honestly, Reita couldn’t decide which one was worse…or _better_ than the other.

“Wait, wait. It’s not like that, I think there’s a mistake here…” Kai hummed to himself, reading over whatever was written on a card he was holding. Reita almost sighed in relief, heart thumping against his suffocated chest as he looked over to Aoi who seemed to want to—

 

“Aha! It’s like this actually!” Reita’s heart skipped a beat. “To make it easier, you don’t have to necessarily nuzzle your roommate’s nose with yours since you’re gonna have this tiiiinyyyy cupcake between your mouths!” 

Reita’s curse could rival the loud music. “What the fuck?!”

 _Is this a god damn roommate competition or a couple competition?!?_  

Aoi repeated his words.

“ _I’m going to **kill** you for signing us up for this shit_.” 

And for the umpteenth of the day, Reita was going to repeat his, too. 

“I _didn’t_ do it! _Kai_ did!” 

Kai sighed loudly over the microphone, shaking his head like some elder at several naughty boys. “You guys are being so loud. Girls! Shut them up with the cupcake!”

 

Two female students with one of them holding a cupcake pressed both of Reita’s and Aoi’s heads forward and placed the sweet food between their mouths. 

“Your mission is eating up the cupcake and which pairing is quicker will win this competition! And you can start now!” 

_Oh my God, this is literally not happening._

Reita sucked in a deep breath, struggling to keep his gaze focused on the cupcake without meeting Aoi’s angry filled one. The raven groaned into the food and rolled his eyes again, trying to bite off pieces from it without dropping it, chewing and at the same time biting again.

The entire thing was pretty hastily done.

“Unghh,” Reita let out a groan he couldn’t repress, feeling way too embarrassed to the point he couldn’t hide it as he gingerly bit and swallowed a few pieces of the sweet food, and at least it tasted good. What made it better was the syrupy filling spilling over his tongue and boosting his taste buds and mood after the center was crushed by his teeth. 

A tiny brush of his nose against the tip of Aoi’s already made him tremble, heart skipping two, three beats or maybe more and it could probably lead to another kiss if they continued with this—

 

A flash of shocking pink liquid splashing over Aoi’s midnight locks filled Reita’s shocked, widened eyes, and it happened so slowly but quickly at the same time that it left his mouth gaping open. Pulling his head away instantly, Reita stared at what exactly was happening. 

“Mamoru?”

He looked in disbelief at the other male who was standing next to the seated Aoi, a tight hand clamped around an empty glass, confusion and all other emotions showing on his face. 

Aoi drew his head back as well with shocked gasps for air, drops of pink liquid falling off the ends of his damp hair, some trailing cold thin trails down his cheeks to smear parts of his makeup. A disbelieving stare made its way from Aoi to Reita, and he let his facial expression turn deadpan, not showing any emotion other than eerily calm anger.

Everyone else had stopped what they were doing.

 

“I told you,” Aoi pressed out through gritted teeth. “Don’t get his hopes up.”

 

Then he jerkily stood up and yanked at the rope, freeing his wrists without any difficulties, before throwing a death glare at Mamoru and hissing lowly at him, most likely just in order to catch him off guard with his threatening voice.

 

“He’s taken. So don’t you dare touch him.”

He gathered the rope in one hand rather messily and shoved it at Kai’s chest rudely.

“I’m done here.”

Aoi thrust a hand through his wet sticky hair, preventing himself from sending another glare at Mamoru before he was rushing out of the room and disappearing into the silent hallway, the door was left slammed shut behind him. 

Everyone stared at the closed door in shocked silence, including Reita, who then lowered his head so he could take a few deep breaths and whisper politely to a female student, asking her to untie his wrists. 

“Thanks.”

He said quietly by the time he pulled his hands free and pushed himself from the table, standing up and looking at other students and their speechless faces.

His eyes settled upon Mamoru’s face and scowled at him with a downright murderous, intense glare. 

Mamoru paled, opened his mouth and took an unsteady step back, instinctively. “Reita—“ 

“You.”

The blond reached for the empty glass from the other’s hand and, without giving it a second thought, slammed it against the table top so hard that spider web effects cracked the glass.

“Don’t fucking ever do that him again.” 

The other swallowed hard, mouth trembling in fear and shaking gaze staring up ahead as Reita turned away from him in dismissal, speeding up towards the exit in search for Aoi.

All traces of anger and regret were replaced by painful edges that made up his facial features as he thought of the raven, of the situation he had to go through and the humiliation the raven must have felt right now. 

 

Aoi stomped up the stairs, heard Reita calling for him so he stopped dead and twirled around, not even surprised when he spotted the blond at the bottom of the stairs and spat more pent-up fires at him.

 

“I fucking told you not to get his hopes up! _I fucking told you!_ What did you think was going to happen after you kissed him, huh?!”

He was almost yelling, surely loud enough for all other party-goers to hear and he scoffed arrogantly.

Reita looked so defeated, fumbling for and with words. 

“I didn’t know he likes me or anything like it! I thought everything was settled and going okay between me and him and I already told him- “

 “After you kissed him _thinking it was me._ ” Aoi cut Reita off,  refusing to hear more.

 “Now you go ahead and deal with his jealousy issues, I’m done with this shit!”

Then he turned back around and proceeded to head and dash upstairs and into the lobby, leaving the blond staring up at him with unspoken dread before he snapped into immediate action. 

“Aoi—Aoi!” Reita practically ran up the stairs, almost stumbling to crash his head against a step that ripped a vicious curse from his lips, picking up his pace as he ascended one step after the other.

 “You know he’s not the one!” Panting slightly for stolen breath, he grasped for Aoi’s hand with a desperate grip, and seeing the pink sticky liquid clinging to the raven’s hair made him feel even worse, made his heart clench, voice drowning as he bit out a few weakening words.

 

“But you…already…rejected me in the first place.”

He reluctantly let go of Aoi’s hand and retracted his own. “I’m sorry for what happened…you didn’t deserve this shit. You wouldn’t have gone through any of this if it hadn’t been for me still chasing after you and dragging you into trouble.” 

Silence. 

“Let’s return to the room, and you can ignore me however you want until tomorrow, I think everyone’s heard enough.” 

Other students had been following and watching the entire scene unfold with complete shock, not having expected to hear such things, especially not from Reita and Aoi. Now that they had been exposed, they whispered and murmured to one another.

 

The raven scoffed and shook his head, a choked laugh wrung out of his mouth. His mind was going crazy.

“Why won’t you let them hear it? Tell them what happened.”

He waved a hand towards everyone circling them, hot tears pricking at his eyes painfully.

“Tell them how you kept fucking the hell out of me every other day or how you suddenly wanted _more_ than that! Or how you didn’t give a shit about how _I_ felt about being treated like your slut, huh?!”

He couldn’t stop, and he didn’t ever want to.

 _Just let them fucking hear._ And they all gasped in utter surprise, more exchanges of shocked and whispered conversations taking over.

 

_Holy shit. For real?_

_No, not my Aoi! Aoi!!_

_Reita fucked him? This is fucking insane! Both of them are!_

 

“Do you really think I rejected you because I didn’t feel anything for you?! Because it’s the exact fucking opposite, Akira!” Aoi continued and took a huge, trembling breath now that he’d finally admitted ... _it._

“It’s the exact—Mm!”

And Reita swallowed, absorbing more of those words into his mouth as he pushed his lips against Aoi’s, hugging the curvy waist in his arms to prevent any escape, blocking any resistance as he rubbed their lips together, colliding breath against breath to become one. 

Had Aoi really said that? Reita was so torn between fantasy and reality that he wasn’t able to tell which was which, and he couldn’t ever trust the former, but the latter had hurt him over and over –

 

_Over and over—_

 

“I love you,” and that felt and tasted different than the very first and previous confession, even deeper and he’d meant it in the way his fingers tightened into Aoi’s clothes, clashing their lips again just as his heart and mind desired, commanded and his body obeyed. No more against his will, no more. 

Their kiss was fed with Aoi’s gasps and groans, his eyes were wide with shock, though his heavy lids were fluttering with the effort of keeping them open and the struggle of not losing himself. 

But hearing the other students giggle and whistle was what brought him back out of his daze so he broke the kiss and pulled away breathlessly, stumbling backwards out of Reita’s arms and instantly lunging out to deliver a resounding slap to the blond’s cheek.

A collective, audible gasp resounded from their audience.

He gulped, the action dampened by his heavy intakes of breath and with soft sobs bubbling up from his throat, he turned on his heels and ran away, ran down the hallways that led to their room, leaving Reita behind like he’d done so many times before.

***

“Now you’ve got him.”

The blond stood still, even as a hand squeezed his shoulder, but the words were useless, they were nothing compared to the pain in his cheek amplifying what his torn heart was already enduring, trying to numb itself and shutting off the outside world, the smaller man’s words.

 

“Whatever he revealed is true, Ruki.”

He didn’t realize his mouth was speaking, eyes staring off into a distance.

 “We had sex when you two were still in a relationship. _A lot._ I fucked him when you still had him as your boyfriend. I’m so sorry about- ” 

“You don’t have to apologize, Reita.” Ruki hushed him, patted his smaller hand against the same shoulder to comfort him and signal it was okay, that he knew and had accepted it.

“It wasn’t your mistake in the first place. It was mine, okay. Now go,” he pushed the blond from behind, who seemed reluctant to move, reluctant to leave with eyes already void of any hope. “Rei, go.”

 Reita looked to Ruki for one last time, and at Kai, who wore a solemn look for what felt like the first time ever, arms crossed in front of his chest and head encouragingly nodding his way. Then the blond left, all feelings mixed up and dead for him, he was too exhausted to bear with any of them any longer. 

Entering the silent dim-lit room, he swung the door closed lightly, eyeing the two beds that were empty and heading to his own before he sat down on it, quietly removing his blazer and hanging it over a chair. The silence was oppressing him.

He’d confessed a second time but for what?

 

Ah well, he wasn’t going to stay around the raven any longer anyway.

_Soon, very soon, he would be far, far away._


	8. Chapter 8

Aoi was hiding himself in the cold bathroom, seated in the corner of the shower booth with hugged legs pressed against his chest, all the while silently staring at the tiled floor reflecting the lights above, a contrast to his damp hair. Right after he'd left the scene and entered the bathroom, he'd immediately washed away the remaining juice from his locks but the embarrassment he had to bear was – to his absolute irritation – impossible to perish. Especially when it had happened in front of all other people.

That fucking Mamoru.

If Aoi could have his way he would've already strangled that guy in return for what he did.

But in the end, he hadn't done that. Worse, though, he had even lashed out his anger towards not only Mamoru – not that he gave two shits what that guy felt – but also Reita. At least he had been able to make Reita fucking realize all this time that—

That Mamoru had truly started to have feelings for him.

And that the raven, after all, had developed and had been keeping them from his and everyone's knowledge.

Fuck, why had he delivered that slap to Reita's face?

Aoi looked down to the hand he'd used, brushing his finger tips slowly over his palm. The sting, he had felt it when his hand connected with Reita's cheek, painfully alternating the blond's expression immediately right after, and he could still see it as it replayed behind his closed eyes over and over again.

Guilt assaulted him, marring his complexion and sending ripples of unease wash over his body.

Because of the sudden kiss? To embarrass the hell out of Reita? Had the blond really deserved that?

Was it worth it?

He winced once he heard the sound of the front door opening and closing shut, looking up and slowly getting on his feet. Curious with all the uncomfortable silence that had resumed its dominance, he advanced quietly to the bathroom door, and although he hesitated, he still made himself pull it open slightly. Reita was slumping down on his bed with a tired, defeated movement and in the dire need of rest.

Reita could, of course, hear the faint sound of the footsteps in the silent room as Aoi finally stepped out of the bathroom and toddled over to his own bed, his back facing the blond as he laid down on the mattress. Staying quiet was what the raven chose and did for a very long time.

However, going to sleep wasn't what he wanted to do, the same thing for Reita. And even if they did find sleep, it was most definitely not going to be a comfortable one.

His heart was feeling sunken and heavy in his chest but it was Aoi who finally took a deep breath and muttered his sincerety, breaking the unnerving silence, although it was probably not enough to fill it, fight against it.

"I'm sorry."

Or enough to draw Reita's attention.

But it was.

And it was only for a short-lived moment that the blond slid a frozen glance at Aoi's back, cast it away to hell and closed his eyes as he whispered a reluctant, cold reply.

"Don't apologize." He pulled his glasses from his face and set them on the nightstand with a low thud. The thick blanket underneath him was pulled to cover himself before he settled on the bed, saying the next words rather dismissively.

"Just go to sleep. We're both tired."

 Aoi's chest ached at the tone of the other's face, feeling it go terribly constricted which was obvious in his almost choked sounding voice when he began to talk. He felt hopeless and frustrat but he couldn't go on staying this way, could he? Now that he'd said it, he had to go all the way.

He gave a little shake of his head to himself, defined knuckles turning hard and white as he gripped the fabric of the covers. He still had to say it, he just had to. No matter how difficult it seemed.

"No, I... I _never_ meant... to hurt you... the way I did. It's all my fault, I know."

Was this even going to work? Aoi knew he had done his part, and now he was waiting for Reita to do his, too. Provided he wanted to. He could just end the conversation without having to precisely do it. He could even hurt Aoi without laying a touch on his hair, call him names like he'd done the previous night.

But the blond did none of that, and his soft and weak voice that came out next took Aoi by complete surprise.

"Were you really offended when I treated you ... like a slut?"

He spent a moment to himself before he continued with a shaky breath. "I did that because I wanted to hide my feelings, so it became less painful, easier to handle..." A deep breath was taken as he fisted the material of the blanket, pushing it down before he sat up and climbed down the bed.

"Do you really have the same feelings, Aoi? I just wanted to know, wanted to confirm..." 

He kneeled down beside Aoi's bed, was hesitant at first, but then told himself to get over it and placed a hand atop Aoi's head, his touch gentle as his fingers thread through the soft locks. Not even a wince, a reaction Reita had dreaded and expected. But Aoi only released a soft exhale and turned around until he was laying on his back, his face turned to Reita. Aoi's expression was unreadable but his eyes, flickering back and forth between Reita's, were filled with so many unspoken emotions.

"Of course I have."

He swallowed, his voice shaking a little more. 

"I was just...," he pressed his lips together for a brief moment, as if he was fighting to hold back tears. Reita could sense it, yet he gave the other some time and waited patiently, because he knew and understood the battle within him. You don't always got Shiroyama Yuu to apologize and confess these kinds of things every day. 

Once Aoi was sure enough of the strength he had found, he continued, voice on the verge of breaking.

"I was afraid. I was scared that, after you were using me like that, that I wouldn't be enough...that I wouldn't work... in a proper relationship."

_Ah... is that so._

Reita silently continued to gaze down at Aoi, his shadowed gaze gentling as he fathomed each of the raven's word, his calloused hand on top of the dark haired head stroking down the smooth strands as he took his field of vision away.

Aoi might be every girl's and boy's superstar at school, but his ability to succeed in relationships, the one with Ruki, and with the ones before him, was non-existent. But Reita paid no mind to that and he could see that beyond all of those failures. He saw the real him.  

And Reita had never fallen in love with someone this bad in his whole life. Aoi surely was – ever since the beginning of this – fatal for him. And to get this one man, who had confessed all his heart, he would endure and fight for just about everything.

But he needn't to do all of that. Because he already had Aoi now.

Without breaking the eye contact, Reita suddenly leaned down and kissed Aoi softly on the lips, moving them slowly against the raven's. Aoi released a trembling breath, eyes fluttering close at the heart-warming kiss and they parted open once he felt Reita withdraw. Wanting to keep the blond in place, he lifted his hand to give a caress to the other's cheek and hold it, eyes gradually starting to glisten with tears. After pulling away, Reita touched their foreheads together and listened to the sound of their breathing - all relaxed and smooth.

 _"I love you, Aoi."_  

Reita slid one arm to wrap over Aoi's stomach, the raven's hand held and squeezed gently in his own. He then planted a kiss right on the other's forehead. 

"I'm sorry. For pushing you away like that. And for making you feel unwanted," Aoi muttered, gulped and smiled a tiny smile. "For slapping you, several times." 

And he indeed chuckled a bit at that, sniffling.

"Silly, it really hurt, okay?" Reita suppressed a smile that tried to creep into his face, puffing a cheek before flattening it back just to curl his lips into a definite shape of content. 

"I forgive you. Now, don't you cry, please." 

He lowered his mouth to kiss Aoi again, who hummed into the kiss and actually smiled into it. That smile stayed on his lips as he shifted slightly in the bed, prompting Reita join him.

"Come here..." he whispered and swept his hand to Reita's shoulder, gripping onto it and trying to pull him up and onto the bed with a giggle. The blond didn't miss the hint that the raven wanted to feel his weight on top of him again.

"Hey, hey. I got this."

Aoi's continuous effort made Reita laugh slightly. He slid his leg over the edge of the bed, pulled himself up, then hugged Aoi's waist with his arms. "You never know patience, huh?" 

And then he cupped both of those soft cheeks with determined hands, leaned down to kiss the giggling raven –who shook his head in response to his words– hard, _harder_ in the next split second. Aoi allowed himself to get lost in the heated kiss, returning it eagerly when he felt Reita's hand was dropped onto his knee to push it apart from the other.

Keeping up with the kiss almost hungrily, Aoi parted his slim legs wider, willingly so to accommodate Reita between them. One of his hands was caressing down the blond's heaving chest, every cell in his palm awoke with tingling sensations at the feel of the hard muscles, covered by a layer of fabric. And he couldn't wait to get rid of it already.

With their lips apart just a tiny bit, he tongued against Reita's lips, asking for his own tiny muscle to play with with a soft needy groan. Aroused even more by that breathless sound, the blond parted his mouth as he tilted his head to the side, sliding the wanted tongue out, pressing and dragging up its tip against the slick underside of Aoi's. Strings of saliva formed between their bruised, rubbing lips and restless lapping and dancing tongues that seemed like they couldn't leave each other for not even a second.

"I want this," Reita's hand gripped one of Aoi's clothed ass cheeks, nails digging tightly through the thick layer that hid the flesh. He was already breathing hard as he assaulted Aoi's lips again roughly.

Aoi groaned in response and reached down to unbutton and unzip his jeans before doing the same to Reita's, lifting his hips to prompt and make it easier for Reita to pull the pants down, whimpering blissfully and kissing him with just as much passion and roughness.

"Then take it, it... it's been yours all along."

Edging himself a bit backwards and propped on his knees, Reita grabbed hold of the other's skinny jeans, eagerly pulling them down in a harsh manner to reveal his smooth legs as fast as he could. Discarding the lower garment onto the floor, he started pushing down his own jeans.

"Did you... bring some lube along with you?" Of course he hadn't expected for this to happen but now? Excuse them, it was _so_ going to happen.

Wheezing slightly, Aoi looked up at Reita with his chest constantly rising and falling with his intakes of air, licking his lips once before he let out a chuckle and turned onto his side so he could reach for his bag that was positioned next to the bed on the floor.

"I hate to admit it but..."

He pulled out the asked lube _and_ a condom, as if he'd been totally prepared for this. Once he returned to his former position, he was grinning both insecurely and wryly, watching Reita who had just pulled his shirt over his head. The blond was now staring at the two things in the raven's hands and when he saw that grin, he smothered a laugh.

"I wonder if you really had me or any of the third years in mind..." 

But Reita didn't continue with his sentence and instead, jerked his chin at the night stand when he spoke with a husky voice. 

"Set them aside and take the rest of your clothes off. Then on all fours, I'll prep you before my dick gets to take your ass from behind."

Aoi blinked his eyes up at Reita several times before smirking cheekily, excitement evident all over his face. “You’re demanding, I like it.”

He hurriedly moved to undress himself completely but didn’t bother to turn on his fours. In fact, as a surprise, he threw his naked, slim body into Reita’s arms so they were almost falling over with heart-felt laughter; his arms looped around the blond’s neck and lips pressed soundly against the other’s as they kissed. Breaking the kiss for air after a bit, Aoi murmured breathily, his body arched exquisitely erotic in Reita’s arms.

“And I missed it. I missed you.”

Those words of dense affection... Reita’s heart fluttered high, he could feel it, felt as if time had stopped for a brief moment for him, and Aoi.

Reita palmed his hands down the slope of the raven’s naked back, his voice slightly hoarse as he put every emotion he was experiencing now into his words. “I missed you too. A freaking lot,” he muttered before trailing wet kisses down from Aoi’s jawline to his throat. He stopped in his tracks, bit down into a patch of skin and rolled it between his teeth, both hands now sneaking down to be placed over two bare butt cheeks.

Aoi gasped and moaned when Reita pulled him against his body even closer, their lengths colliding against one another, and started kneading those soft cheeks. His head willingly tilted back to give the other more access, moaning again and even louder before he could bite his lip when Reita sucked and marked his skin harder. Aoi squirmed a little as he felt himself getting hard so he pulled back just to kiss Reita one more time before turning around and finally getting into the position the blond wanted him in.

“Fuck Aoi, it’s still as fucking sexy as I remember,” Reita breathed hotly, finding his breathing hard and irregular as his heartbeat picked a fast pace when he ran his heavy lidded eyes over every hot curve of the raven’s pale skinned ass, peachy and ready to be fucked all rough and red.

He didn’t waste his time then; he leaned over to reach for the condom and lube from the night stand, not doing so without leaving a few open mouthed kisses along the feminine line of the other’s spine that was trembling against his lips and already slightly damp with sweat.

“How bad do you want my cock?”

Now wet and sticky with the overflow of the lube, one of Reita’s fingers went in first and past the warm sensitive rims as his thumb of the other hand held one ass cheek apart, revealing more of the sight of the pinkette hole and he could see Aoi’s cock hanging low, hard and heavy, twitching when his fingers of the same hand dug into his flesh.

“Aoi,” He inserted two other drenched digits to join the first one, moving them in and out slowly before gradually building a fast steady pace, his nerve endings jacking with little electric pulses that were racing southward to settle in his still constrained cock, hardening it painfully as he watched the muscles closing around his fingers.

He twisted all three of them, blunt tips crooking against the sensitive walls. His voice darkened. “Answer me.”

Aoi cried out with every intrusion, his muscles still used to being spread even though it had been quite a while. His arms began trembling and he knew they were going to give way sooner or later, with Reita's dark voice trickling down his spine and his expert movements making his thighs quiver.

His breathing was accelerated, loud and audible and occasionally disturbed by a sound that was neither a moan nor a groan yet exactly what Reita wanted to hear.

And god- _Fuck_ , did it feel good.

"B-Badly," he panted out ultimately to answer the question, his hips pushing back eagerly just to be grabbed in a firm grip in return which made it impossible to move.

"Fuck, Rei- nnh! Uh-nh..."

“That bad?” Reita smeared what was left of the lube against the tight walls that were slowly giving away to his intruding fingers. “But look at yourself, you seem to want to fuck your ass against my fingers. You said you wanted my cock badly? Really?” He kept two fingers apart, keeping the edges of the muscles from squeezing in and watching as the sticky strings of lube slipped out a bit along them.

“You want my cock or my fingers only?” His other hand left the butt cheek it had been holding and pressed the palm against the small of Aoi’s flexible back to curve it down, making the raven’s chest arch, his ass perching up in the air and against Reita’s working fingers. The blond stopped once he felt one of the wet tips of his fingers prod against the gland inside.

“Or my tongue?” His voice heated up, breathing ragged as he leaned over once again to run his tongue from Aoi’s flushed skin to his ear, using one unoccupied hand to push the midnight locks over a trembling shoulder and nipping a soft earlobe as his fingers pumped into the raven.

“Brace yourself,” he rasped and slipped his fingers out of the clenching muscles, hating the loss of heat around them. Taking off the fabric restraining his aching cock, he rolled the condom on, then notched the head against Aoi’s entrance, slamming forward as he dug his fingers into the raven’s perfectly defined hips.

“Fuck!” Damn, he was already losing his mind with the first few brutal inches of being inside Aoi. And it’d been only several seconds but god, he’d missed this feeling.

Aoi cried out loudly beneath him, shaking fingers digging deeply into the pillow case while his back arched even more than it already had before, every single one of the blond's initial thrusts tearing a moan from his lips, as if relieved to finally feel him again. His chest was heaving harshly with panting breaths.

“Fuck- Uuhn, fuck... Aah-ah! Uhh-un...”

After Reita had somewhat pushed him down, Aoi now even tried to push himself back up on his hands but failed, groaning and whimpering into the pillow into which his cheek was pressed and still accepting every thrust of Reita’s cock inside his body.

“Aoi,” Reita spoke with a soft voice, a bit strained though since his breathing consisted mostly of pants and moans. He stopped pounding into the raven, leaning his body over so he could guide his strong arms around his lover’s chest and carefully pull him up.

With Aoi’s sweat drenched back pressing against his heaving chest after seating the raven on his lap, legs bent, Reita tenderly kissed his shoulder a few times before he whispered in the other’s ear.

“Baby, grip on to this, hmm?” Using his rough hands, he rubbed along Aoi’s lean arms with measured pressure before he gently placed the other’s hands over the edge of the headboard. “Can you fuck yourself on my cock? I know you can.”

Aoi groaned needily and held on to the headboard with one hand, the other braced against the wall, his pleasured words coming out breathlessly.

“Fuck... Fuck, I missed you, God... Uuhn...” He chewed on his lip hard as he tried to control the quiver in his thighs, then slowly started moving his hips up and back down on the other's cock, starting to develop a steady rhythm.

Reita couldn’t hold back a smile from forming on his lips, murmuring how he’d missed the other as well, the bed creaking with every single move performed by Aoi on his lap.

“That’s it, mm, good... baby you’re doing it good – God!”

Reita suddenly cried out at the incredible way Aoi’s ass slid down and back up his hard cock, his voice hoarse as he altered to groaning and moaning in pleasure, veiny hands roaming up and down those sinful hips before he let his fingers clamp right under the raven’s ass cheeks, feeling his dick shove even deeper then.

“Oh,” he said when he began taking control of Aoi’s movements. “The poor thing, look at how drenched it is with your precum. Don’t you want to give it some attention?”

Leaning forward just slightly after he forced the raven to stop, his cock pulsing deep inside the bruised walls, he buried his teeth against the back of Aoi’s shoulder to leave another possessive mark on the pale skin, licking the distended flesh with his tongue before he proceeed to pressing his panting mouth against Aoi’s ear.

“I want to see you stroke yourself while I do this,” he whispered, pulled his head back and lifted Aoi’s ass with his hands, freeing his cock just a good one or two inches before slamming the other back down on it.

“Aah! Aah, nnhh...” Aoi let the other take control easily, trusting him to guide everything so he could focus on removing his hand from the edge of the headboard, guiding it to his leaking length. He whimpered lewdly when he felt how slick it was, his movements along it were eager, slender back arched as he moaned the other's name in bliss, dirtied hand continuously working up and down his rigid cock.

“Uhnn, mnh, Reiii... Aah-hah!” Aoi attempted to slow down their movements though, his words hoarse. “T-Turn me over, please, I-... _I want to see you..._ ”

Reita ripped a curse from his lips and forced himself to slow down. How could he resist when the male in his arms was the one requesting? Reita couldn’t, ever, and he was more determined to make this not about himself, not about Aoi alone, but about both of them.

Was this what _lovemaking_ actually felt like? 

After turning him over and swiftly bringing him into his arms, Reita kissed his lover hard and deeply, hands cupping tear streaked cheeks.

Reita took one of Aoi’s hands and guided it to his mouth after a good moment of bruising the raven with his lips, and with his tongue he licked the beautifully drenched fingers, sucking the tips gently before he gave each a nip, quirking a lopesided, satisfied smirk.

“Need more of your hot taste,” he kissed the top of the hand he was holding, pressing the palm against his nose to suck in the scent.

The raven's body seemed limp, his arms splayed now out on either side of his head. The area around his hipbones and the insides of his thighs were reddened and sore but it was a good, satisfying feeling.

His thighs were quivering as he opened them further for his lover, extending a hand and waving Reita down for another one of those deep, passionate kisses.

Reita's movements made the bed sheets rustle as he settled between the raven's legs again, their lips never separating he was buried deep inside of Aoi again. He was taking it slow for now, just a break to let both of them catch their breath again.

“I love you.”

He didn’t break the eye contact as he settled his hands against the mattress on either side of the raven’s head and started bucking his hips harder and faster, his body heat rising up gradually as he kept up with the mind blowing pace.

“God, I fucking love you.”

Aoi's moans grew louder and louder, turned into begging and pleading, to the point he was sure that anybody walking past their room could definitely hear them. The walls here were thin.

He didn't know whether his face was displaying the pleasure or the pain but he felt both. It reflected in the way he was desperately trying to thrust his hips up to meet Reita's but it was impossible. The blond was lost in his own rhythm, his muscular body heaving forward and backward above him and all Aoi could do was encourage him by moaning even louder.

"Un, aah, aah- ! N-naah!"

"Fuck... Ughn!"

"Haah!"

Oh, how he would have loved to keep him closer, as close as possible but Aoi was barely able to lift his legs to wrap around the other's hips, could only spread them open wider and at least try to keep his arms around Reita's torso. With his nails still digging into the skin, scratching down the shoulder blades that flexed with every pound into his body, Aoi was pretty sure he was about to lose his god damn mind.

Reita had already lost his own, hissing as the deep penetration of sharp nails left raw crescents of dark red against his sweaty skin. This was his ecstasy and he was suffering from an overdose right fucking now.

Finally having a firm, choking grip on his lover’s hips, thumbs brushing over the perfect curves of bones, Reita heaved Aoi up and kept his legs loosely wrapped around his waist so that the raven was straddling the blond completely in his lap.

Heavily drunk on the lust pumping through him, Reita slowly tipped his head back, with Aoi at least a head higher, and looked at the raven. Dark gaze softening, melting as every appreciated moment passed by, he continued staring into those sparks inside Aoi’s eyes, tightening his embrace around the other.

“You’re the most gorgeous person ever, Yuu.”

The raven was panting heavier than ever before. And Reita was feeding on the moans and whimpers that left Aoi's mouth continuously while he moved his hips sensually in tune with the blond's upward thrusts.

"Hnn... A-Aah, Reita, I can't- uh-uhn..."

Aoi's head fell forward, coming to rest his forehead on Reita's shoulder, his back damp, his thighs shaking and all just because their new position made every sensation even more intense.

_"Fuck, please, make me... "_

Stuttered pants and gasps kept leaving his lips and at that point, the trembling raven was so desperate for his release, he couldn't stop himself from sneaking a hand between their bodies and his legs. Reita understood immediately and picked up the pace, maintaining a firm grip on Aoi's hips as he worked his way in and out, and in and out.

Heat began coiling up in the pit of Aoi's stomach, his free hand grasping Reita's upper arm. "Aah, R-Rei, yes, please, I'm- uuhn! S-So close, please, _make me-_ "

But he was unable to finish his phrase, not when suddenly Reita's hips jolted upwards harder than ever, accompanied by a lewd groan, and the head of his cock rubbed deliciously against the raven's prostate, hitting it dead-on.

"Aaah- Aaah... !"

Aoi's relieved moan was surprisingly low, almost weak compared to how heavy the wave of his orgasm came crashing down on him and flooded his senses. White, sticky liquid dribbled down the side of his length, over his hand and abdomen, and his body fell limp against Reita's muscled chest. 

It was the first moment that Aoi dared to think that he was experiencing something close to pure happiness.

After one heartbeat that they spent in utter silence, Reita twisted his body to the side so he could lay Aoi down, intense pain and pleasure pulling at him as he continued making his way in and out of his lover, determined to bring the already developed heat to its climax.

The blond bit his lip, muffling the demanding gasps before his whole body suddenly jerked, his moan hoarse as it rolled up his constricted throat and his knees sinking heavily into the mattress as he braced himself on top of Aoi, and three, four hot spurts later of filling, perhaps even overflowing the thin rubber, it was his turn to become limp for a few moments, letting the familiar waves of shock take him away and-

God, it really had been a fucking while.

Gripping the sweat soaked sheets with one hand, he fisted it tightly as he lifted his head and leaned down to kiss Aoi’s parting mouth, meshing his own against it and sharing a short, yet deep breath with him. Having to climb down the messy bed, Reita carefully pulled his flaccid length out of the raven, slipped the rubber off so he could tie it and toss it into the waste bin.

Aoi was left even more breathless by that kiss than he already was. After Reita had pulled away to clean them up, he stared at the ceiling for a bit before closing his eyes and concentrating on catching his breath. His chest was falling and rising heavily with audible pants of breath, legs still bent but closed.

They spent a long time in silence, listening to their breathing that calmed down only slowly and as he spoke, Aoi’s voice sounded almost puny.

“I'm sorry.”

Aoi took a gulp of air and gasped, turning his head to the side and languidly lifting his arm so he was able to brush his fingertips over Reita's temple. “I've been an idiot. And it's all my fault that we ended up like this.”

“Hey,” Reita grabbed those fingers with a calloused hand, voice coming out soft but as firm as his grip to draw Aoi’s attention, draw his eyes to the darker ones that were staring at him. Without his glasses, they appeared even sharper, more determined. “I’ve forgiven you already, and I don’t want to hear you apologizing again, okay?”

Reita dropped his lips to Aoi’s palm, pressing a soft kiss to the smooth skin before he shifted a bit to pull the other into his arms and bury his face on top of the raven’s head. It felt nicer, better and warmer on this otherwise single bed shared by the two of them.

If only forever was possible, he’d choose no other options but that.

“Though I have to apologize, too, for leading you to receive that kind of treatment from Mamoru. I should’ve stopped him sooner.”

Reita didn’t care anymore, if it was needed he’d show everyone that he was a possessive fuck – lover - like he’d always been and that he belonged to no one other than Aoi.

And Aoi belonged to him.

Distracting himself with the sight of Aoi’s belly piercing, the tips of his fingers traced it ever so slightly. The metal, small and cold against his touch, but still attractive, but not as half as the owner. A faint hum softly sounded from his throat.

“You won’t leave me alone in the morning, right?”

It was a joke, supposed to be one but he couldn’t manage to make it sound humorous, couldn’t even chuckle along. He remembered how heart-splitting it had felt to see Aoi gone the morning after at his apartment and he didn’t want to experience anything even close to that ever again.

He fell silent, regretting the fact he was letting himself drained with these negatives clouding his mind.

Aoi couldn’t help but chuckle at those words though, snuggling closer to Reita's chest with a shake of his head before he whispered equally softly in response.

“I won't. I won't ever leave you alone again.” He slowly lifted a hand in order to sweep it over Reita's cheek and brush some strands of hair away from his forehead, looking into the other's eyes and mustering all his courage to say what he had wanted to say all along.

“I love you.”

Aoi kept quiet afterwards, gaze skittering away but when it caught the shocked expression on Reita's face, he chuckled happily, using the opportunity to lean up and press their lips together, firmly but unmoving. Then he pulled back and pressed their foreheads together.

“Do you hear me? I love you.” 

“Y-yeah, I do…”

To be quite honest, Reita was having a hard time believing it. “Y-you... do?”

Blame his fucking stutter for changing the color of his cheeks into an embarassed red, making his breathing rate pick up and god, he was actually beyond stunned and happy, satisfied and at ease. “You really do.”

At first he hesitated, but then courage got the better of him and before he realized it, he was already leaning in even closer so their noses were also touching.

He realized that was what he had been wanting to hear from Aoi all this time.

He twisted himself a bit, pulling the covers high to cover their bodies. There was nothing to worry about now anymore. They were both already feeling warm, being this intimately close on this single bed.

“Good night,” Reita whispered, eyes closing while a smile lingered on his lips. “Sweet dreams.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My god FINALLY. *rolls eyes* Puh, that took 'em a while, huh. But watch out, we're not done just yet.


	9. Chapter 9

After bolting right up at the sound of his non-stop ringing phone, Reita spent the few seconds of frustation going through his throbbing skull without making any further move. His hair was tousled and his eyes barely kept open. He just wanted to go back to sleep. But he couldn’t.

“What even…” he frowned and growled lowly, rubbing at the knit between his eyebrows. It seemed like he just had to find out who was out there and tell them to just go fuck themselves.

Slowly and reluctantly he left the bed, careful as to not wake Aoi up before he grabbed his buzzing phone and ended an incoming call without even checking the name.

The pounding on the door continued.

“REITAAA!” Kai’s howl suddenly came through the structure he was busting against.“AAA—“

“What?!” Reita yelled.

“—AOII—“

“You’re so unbelieveable, Kai! It's early! Go bother someone else!”

Reita gave a dismissive huff, collapsing back on the bed with a sigh before he checked his phone, frowning at the bombardment of notifications it displayed.

“God, they're finally awake.”

Kai finally stopped his assault on the door.

“What the fuck do you mean by _early_?! It's almost eleven and you two are going to be left behind in this hotel if you haven't gotten ready yet!” Kai sounded dead serious this time and it was convincing enough.

_What?!_

Reita sat up quickly with shock-filled eyes, unable to directly reply to Kai once he – finally and properly— looked at the time on his phone, only swallow down a choked gasp.

“Oh my God,” he drawled and instantly hovered over Aoi to shake his arm gently with one hand. “Baby, wake up. Aoi, we need to get ready in record time—“

“15 minutes!” The amusement in Kai’s voice was obvious, it was just so damn annoying.

“I get it! Just fuck off already!”

“H-Huh? _What_ \- what??” Aoi awoke with a jerk, rubbing at his eyes sleepily as he rolled over onto his side and blindly reached behind him to slap Reita's hand away.

“Mmm, don't wake me up yet, baby... Don't— _oww_! _Ouch_!”

And with a loud plonk, the raven’s body rolled off the edge and hit the floor, followed by a wave of hissing and cursing.

“ _Uugh_ , fuck babe, what's going on? What is he...?” He groaned slightly, rubbed one hand over his hair and looked up at Reita, then pointed to the door with his thumb, still looking confused. “What did he say about fifteen minutes?”

“We overslept...” Reita mumbled rather absently. His brain began calculating how much time they would have for everything from brushing their teeth, showering, getting dressed to throwing dirty clothes into the suitcases, making the beds…

“Fifteen minutes to get ready and get the hell out of here.”

He instantly snapped out of his trance and moved into action by pulling Aoi up to his feet, trying his best not to let out an amused laugh at the raven's position and his confused face. Grabbing two fo their towels, he began dragging the raven towards the bathroom.

“Whoa whoa okay, ok- okay!” Aoi fought to keep up with him, quickly reaching for a toothbrush while Reita entered the shower booth after taking his boxers off.

“Why didn't you wake up earlier??” Aoi rolled his eyes at him before he undressed as well and squeezed himself next to his boyfriend into the shower.

“Ugh, move!” The raven giggled and bumped Reita's hip with his own so he could get beneath the running water, earning a dissatisfied glance shot at him. Reita huffed audibly, turning his face away, and spoke through the rush of water.

“Well, I'm sorry _your Highness_ , I seemed to be in a very deep sleep after you’ve kept me busy last night.”

Somehow during their brief shower, he surprised Aoi with a kiss on the cheek, then practically jumped out of the shower to grab his towel and rub it all over his head and parts of his body.

“Ten minutes left!” He shouted over his shoulder, laughing wholeheartedly and grinning after taking a few items out of the bathroom in order to let them disappear inside his suitcase.  
  


Aoi finished his shower very quickly and gathered the remaining items from the bathroom to throw them into his own suitcase. He was running into the bedroom naked and haphazardly drying himself, then jumping around on one leg while putting on fresh pants.

“Admit it, you were exhausted!” he laughed out loud as the blond gasped at the embarrassingly true remark.

“I- And you weren't??” Reita tried not to keep himself from evidently sulking, but the offended tightness thickening his voice as he spoke halfway through putting his t-shirt and jeans on, was revealing it even more.

“Maybe I wasn’t rough enough...” he faintly mumbled to himself and slid on a hoodie to complete his attire, crouching to zip up his suitcase after stuffing his damp towel inside it.

Three sharp knocks on the door and, “You guys missed out breakfast by the way,” made Reita jump out of his skin and shriek.

“What the fuck you've been out there the whole time?!”

The brunet chirped, “With Ruki-chan!” and chuckled. “Well, we'll have to leave now to join the others, make it quick you two!”

Aoi rolled his eyes and exclaimed towards the door. “God damn it, can't you leave us a bit of privacy?!”  
  
He was laughing though as he put on a loose, almost see-through shirt and stuffed everything else into his suitcase, closing it completely and then standing up and lifting the suitcase up as well.

“Ugh, I'm done. Are you ready?” He looked at Reita briefly before bending over and combing his fingers through his still damp hair.

“Mmm...”

Something just didn’t feel quite right yet. Reita knew and glanced across the overly messy beds -especially Aoi's - before his eyes landed on the target and he headed over to the night stand to grab one of the most important things.

“Keycards.”

He held the items up, smiling at the thought of how one of them had went 'missing' before, but then his smile faltered and dropped completely once Mamoru crossed his mind, darkening the features of his face.

He shook his head to get rid the thoughts.

After dropping the cards in his hoodie’s pocket, he gently held Aoi's hand with his now free one.

“Yeah, umh, let’s run now!"

They rushed towards the door to open it, laughing when surprise hit them because they forgot to put on their shoes. And they finally left the room, hallways filled with their fast-paced taken steps, youthful giggles and laughter.

“Yikes- coming through! Sorry!”

***    

Upon reaching the bus, the two teenagers bent over, panting hard to catch their breath. Once straightening themselves, Reita released Aoi's hand so both of them could finally move and start placing their suitcases in the baggage compartment.

Reita sighed softly in relief and smiled over to the raven when their gazes caught one another. Not bad. They had managed to arrive here before running out of time.

Kai appeared outside of the bus after making a dramatic jump through the door, hugging two bottles of mineral water and sandwiches in a paper bag against his chest. A smug smile played on his lips for Reita to see when the brunet head went over to him. “You guys are _suuuuper_ _awesome_. Here's your breakfast.”

Reita grunted a little and took them all into his arms, mumbling a ‘thank you’ under his breath before he climbed into the bus.

“Ah, Aoi, you're glowing _so bright_ today eh,” Kai grinned, wiggling his dark eyebrows knowingly at the noticeable dark marks covering the base of Aoi’s throat. “Must have been a great night, I bet?”

Where Aoi only rolled his eyes (but did blush a little, of course) Reita nearly bumped into someone upon hearing that because he’d suddenly stopped walking.

“Dude, get off this bus,” Ruki barked. “Get off.”

Reita gave him a confused look. “What?”

“We all want to get out of this thing,” the small blond announced in a rather tired voice, though he was already smiling as he shooed Reita out of the vehicle.

“We just wanna take a photo of everyone because y’know, final field trip, final year…” Kai clarified and jutted his chin out, staring up skyward and continuing to talk with his voice lowered, softened just like his eyes.

“High school comes once in a life anyway. All of the bitter sweet, tears and laughters. We’re gonna miss it man, all of it. I’m gonna miss my younger me, you’re gonna miss your younger you. And you, and you...” He pointed to each and everyone in his sight with a smile.

Reita would’ve probably tossed something at Kai for being that sentimental but what he’d said was reaching deep. Kai was right, no doubt.

“Uhh, kay I hope I look decent enough.”

He glanced over to Aoi and offered a tiny and not so confident smile.

Ruki took a step back after setting up a camera on a stand.

“Alright everyone, get into positions you like! But don't cover up the shorter ones!” he yelled through the noise the other students were making, repeating it when he thought they weren’t paying much attention.

“Something we both will be looking at 10 years later?” Reita chuckled a little next to Aoi, shoving a hand through his disarray, still damp hair. Though that didn’t work any wonder to fix it at all.

Aoi watched him, then laughed aloud, pulling Reita close to his side and arranging the blond's hair so that it looked neat, smiling fondly as he spoke.

“You look good.”

His smile widened and he leaned up to peck Reita's lips - not missing the sight of the blush warming the other’s cheeks - before posing with him for the photo, wrapping one of Reita's arms over his shoulder and waving towards the camera. He showed a piece sign and laughed heartily. 

*** 

Leaning back, Reita popped a small piece of chocolate in his mouth as he looked over to the half-finished handwritten calculation on one of the many sheets spread in front of him.

The question was a bit challenging and required a long and detailed answer in order to gain every offered point. But of course, there was nothing he couldn’t provide the solutions for and this one he had already found anyway. He just needed some more time to finish writing everything down.

And this was what he liked the most, the concentration he had for questions that were brain-frying to other people but an easy task for him. He quietly resumed writing down step after step of correct answer before he placed his mechanical pencil down with a faint thud.

“That's all, tell me if you're still confused about anything,” he smiled lightly to the person beside him, of course, no other than Aoi. They had finally met in order to work a bit more towards the final exams. 

The raven blinked at the answer sheet only briefly, before apparently deciding he didn’t care much anymore. Shrugging and snatching the chocolate out of Reita's hand, he non-chalantly climbed on top of him, surprising his boyfriend in the process and plonking down on him so he could rest his cheek on Reita's chest.

“Mmn, I think I got everything, sensei.” With a mischiveous purr against the blond’s chest, he cuddled up to him and mumbled, “And now I'm sleepy.”

Reita blinked several times as he recovered from the surprise, smiled softly and corrected his tilted glasses across his nose.

“Did you, really?” He wrapped his arms around the other's waist and gently rubbed down the curves with his hands, Aoi’s body sheltered firmly by his. “Hey, don't sleep yet, finish the chocolate first.”

The blond leaned in gently planted a kiss atop the raven head. A hand was brought up and the fingers found themselves buried lightly in the silky hair, though they retracted when Aoi lifted his face to glance up at him and giggled, nodding as he chewed on his chocolate.

“Mm, I still have one piece left,” he grinned up at him cheekily. “Do you want it?”  
The offered piece was held between his teeth and just like that, as another surprise, he sweetly kissed Reita, pushing the chocolate into his mouth before pulling back with a wide smile.

“There you go.”

He stretched himself languidly.

“Mm, now I can sleep, right?” He sniffed and shifted until his head pillowed comfortably on the blond’s muscled shoulder, giving a soft sigh and closing his eyes.

“Yeah you can...” Reita trailed off, swallowed the chocolate down his throat and showered Aoi’s head with more kisses before he fixed the pillow underneath his head and glanced down over the edge of the couch. One hand reaching out to grab hold of the blanket on the floor, he pulled it up to cover them from the waist down, enough to provide warmth.

“You did a great a job studying with me today, you really deserve some rest.”

Reita took off his glasses and set them on the coffee table next to some other snacks, empty glasses and above of all things: books and partly answered sheets of paper. Turning over so they were laying side by side, facing one another, Reita tried to make it as comfortable as possible for the raven, especially with the lack of space on the couch, but it was all the more reason they could stay close and press up against each other.

“We'll continue once we wake up if you want to,” he continued and yawned, closing his eyes just as he smiled and and draped his arm over Aoi's waist, holding him close in his half embrace.

As a reluctant respons, Aoi grumbled and snuggled close to Reita's chest again, pulling the blanket higher and over their shoulders. “Yeah, whatever.”

***

No one was answering the door.

They had already let Akira know around an hour earlier that they were coming over. They’d sent a text but received no reply received. _He surely didn’t go out to party, did he?_ They knew their youngest child wasn’t the type to socialize much and as freely as other teenagers who were of the same age. Doing ridiculous, non-profitable things and wasting time wasn’t what they’d taught him.

The Suzuki parents had made sure they’d raised their children well, shaped and bent them into the people they’d wanted them to be - excellent, sharp, highly competitive and independent so they could strike every single opportunity presented to them. They were all unique and had their own spotlight, and Akira certainly wasn’t excluded.

And now, since they’d been standing here for nearly ten minutes and that was the maximum time their patience could bear, the older man looked over to his wife and asked gruffly. “Still not picking up his phone? What the hell is the boy doing in there?”

His wife sighed and nodded, removing her cellphone from her ear and ending the call. “Maybe he's just studying again, phone on silent mode, who knows.”  
She placed the phone back into her pocket and rummaged through her bag for a spare key.

“I guess it's okay if we go in.”

“Akira!”

She frowned as she didn't receive an answer, walked down the hallway and stopped as she reached the doorway to the living room, spotting two sleeping teeangers, all wrapped up around one another.

“Do you know that boy?”

“A _boy_?” The gruff voice automatically hardened and the old man thought to confirm his wife's discovery that instant, speeding up right after he toed off his shoes. He fell deadly silent once he took in the sight with his own eyes.

Nothing was coming out of his mouth yet, as he took in the surroundings - the mess made on the table and floor.

Stalking over, he lifteda few of the heaviest books off the table and dropped them back down with a loud thud, making them topple over every other thing on the table.

“ _Suzuki ** **Akira****_.”

Reita startled awake, red eyes wandering around the area quickly. Just _who_ or _what_ had disturbed his sleep? He found his answer as he froze completely, seeing his father's solemn, dark face. His jaw fell when he saw his mother's equally surprised eyes.

“I…” He choked and moved around uncomfortably on the couch, shifting the still sleeping Aoi slightly in his arms. “Mom? Dad..? You're- ?”

_Already back from the business trip?_

“You didn't answer a single call.”

With one wrinkled hand, his father gestured to the mess on the table and Aoi, chin jerking towards the still sleeping raven.

“Your...?”

He didn’t even say the next word because he was too overwhelmed with anger, jaw tightening to betray his calm voice. “You didn't tell us you have one.”

His wife crossed her arms and eyed Aoi suspiciously. “Who is he, Akira? He looks...” She didn’t really say anything else, but her dark glance said enough.

Of course with all of the sudden loud voices around, Aoi finally woke up, groaning andd turning in Akira's arms as he mumbled.

“Mm, baby, what's going on?”

He rubbed at his eyes, then opened them, blinking up at Reita's parents blankly before sitting up quickly when realization dawned on him. “ _What_ — Mr. Suzuki?”

Reita’s heart shrunk at the sight of his boyfriend, who was now trying to make himself look at least less disheveled. Reita truly hadn’t expected their visit.

With little courage and despite the judging look of his parents that felt like a punch to his gut, he pushed the blanket down to their waists before he managed a weak glance up at his strict father, one hand moving down to hold he raven's and squeezing it.

“Dad… this-“

“Looks like someone unworthy of your time which has gone to damn waste.” The older man scowled down at Aoi, gaze solidly _only_ on the raven for the following moments. Reita’s lips went dry instantly as they parted, eyes reflecting the sting of the phrase. Why was his father saying that? But should Reita argue back? He had never done that, had never had the guts to do it.

His father’s next question abruptly put a stop to his train of thoughts when it came slicing through him.

“Have you... been trying to prevent him from _going_?”

Reita’s expression immediately faded to being pale, head shaking slightly in defence. “No, dad, Aoi doesn't-“

_Aoi doesn’t even know, ** **fuck.****_

Mr. Suzuki lifted a hand to shut him up, teeth grounding out the command he seldomnly used. “Stay quiet and be a _good_ child.”

He finally seated himself on the couch opposite them, legs crossed together and from this position he could now have a steadier look at Aoi, judging him as his jaw hardened. Reita swallowed the knot in his throat, he was uncertain of what his father was going to say, but he was certain both he and Aoi wouldn’t like it. The silent anticipation was killing him.

“I can understand why kids like _you_ would want to date a genius like Akira. But believe me, Aoi,” he scoffed for a second at the name, “ _I_ will still make him leave for his study no matter what, no matter what you've said to him. You're just a nobody to us.”

He watched as his son clasped Aoi’s hand tighter, although the teenage boy was already shaking with disappointment at his words and wasn’t even able to look at his boyfriend in the eyes.

“I... Aoi-”

“ _Aoi, Aoi, Aoi,_ ” Mr. Suzuki tipped his head to the side, sighing in a bored, sarcastic tone. “Make this as your final meeting with Akira, enjoy it while it lasts and then forget about it. Leave it in the soon forgotten past.”

He crinkled his nose slightly once, knowing the raven was a smoker from his appearance and the _idea_ of letting Akira date him irked him. How could he let Reita be with this kind of guy? Oh, _no_. Of course he wouldn’t.

“Let me be honest with you both now,” he leaned forward as he propped his arms against his parted knees, eyes lifted to meet Aoi's to let him see the rage burning inside. “I _don't_ like you. I really don’t. I am most certainly not approving your relationship with my son. Both of us are not. If you want to save your heart, end the relationship and leave Akira alone so he won't get distracted and can focus on studying abroad. He’ll be leaving the country in two weeks.” And with this being said, he smiled for the first, and probably the last time to them. An unpleasant one.

Aoi grew uncomfortable the more Reita's dad kept talking, squirming worriedly from side to side. But then his expression fell once he heard about Reita leaving.

He was… Reita was _what?_

Aoi turned towards him and frowned, eyes full of disbelief and surprise, even shock.

“I... You...?” The raven seemed taken aback as he looked back and forth between Reita and his father, gulping as his eyes met Reita's again, voice not coming out smoothly with words. “Y-You... You're _leaving_?”

Mrs. Suzuki lifted her eyebrows and stared down at Aoi arrogantly before looking at her son. “Oh you didn't tell him, Akira? How _stupid_ of you.”

“I don’t want to leave you, Aoi,” Reita began hurriedly, “but...”

He trailed off and frowned as he took a few moments to continue, though this time it was done weakly and quietly.

“I wanted to tell you, I really did. But it was… _difficult_ , because I knew you’d be sad and disappointed. And now we both are. I’m sorry, Aoi.”

The older man kept on watching how his son faltered in his speaking and smirked to himself, leaning back in the couch and tilting his head back comfortably. The truth really _hurt_ , didn’t it? And of course he was going to pain both teenagers even more.

“Akira actually no longer needs to go for finals. He was offered scholarships and accepted a full one, life and profession are all secured and guaranteed. Can’t you see his future, bright and succesful? I certainly don’t want you to get in his way.”

He wasn’t even trying to hide his displeasure when he rolled his eyes and looked to the side as if he couldn’t bear the sight of the two.

“Ah, Akira, your mother and I rated you so highly. And you chose someone like him? _Him_? What got into your mind?”

Reita already seemed a bit exhausted, clenching and unclenching Aoi’s hand. The words were stabbing through him so much he was afraid to fire back, and all he could say was, “I’m sorry…” to Aoi and his parents. He really was, for this was afterall… a _mistake_?

“Before we-” his father slid his flinty and cold gaze to Aoi. “ _you_ waste more time, I’d like to remind you where the door is.” He lifted his hand in the mentioned direction, towards the hallway. “We don’t want to see you with Akira ever again, and I’ve made myself clear enough about that.”

Aoi stared at Reita with wide eyes now, looking absolutely shocked.

“You wanted to tell me?! When?!” he exclaimed and yanked his hand out of Reita's grip, shaking his head at him and then looking rather hopeless after Mr. Suzuki had pointed out that he definitely wanted Aoi to leave. And never come back.

“Are you... Are you not going to say anything?”

Reita’s mother hissed at him. “He doesn't need to say anything. My husband has made it clear enough. We want you gone, _now_.”

Before Reita could stop Aoi, the raven stumbled up quickly on his feet, his anger gone and replaced by a look of mere helplessness as he stared at the two adults.

“I-I...”

He looked at Reita almost pleadingly, the expression alone was tearing the blond up.

“ _R_ - _Rei_...”

But then he realized that Reita wouldn’t say anything. He wasn’t going to stand up for him or their relationship. He was going to give in to his parents’ will, like the well-behaved son they wanted him to be.

So Aoi swallowed thickly and gritted his teeth, slowly stepping around the couch and making his way quickly to the hallway to put his shoes on.

“ _See_?” The aggravating adult voice of Reita’s father cut through the tense atmosphere.

“Glad we’re getting rid of him.”

He grabbed a few books from the table, smirking in triumph when he held them in front of Reita. “You don’t need him Akira, you won’t even be needing him later. You’ll forget about him in a matter of time.”

Reita slowly lifted his head to look up at his father, trying to give the impression the older man didn’t affect him. But he did. Proven by the line of defeat in the teenager’s eyes. He then shakily took the books, pressing them against his chest and dashing after Aoi.

“Aoi, I’m sorry…” He grasped Aoi’s hand with his own unoccupied one and pulled him close, wrapping an arm around around his shoulders before he buried his face in the top of his head. “I’ll call and text you. Y-You’ll answer, right?”

His mother rolled her eyes. “My God Akira, don't be so sentimental.”

She heaved a breath but did stop her husband from following his son, probably the motherly instinct of at least letting them bid farewell on their own.

Aoi clenched his teeth to hold back the tears, not even returning the other’s hug and instead pushing at Reita's chest with his eyes averted.

“ _Don't_.”

He turned away to grab his jacket. His heart felt terribly cold.

“You should have told me.”

He slipped into the clothing and opened the door, looking at Reita one last time with a sad wavering smile.

“Thanks for teaching me. I'm sure I'll manage the finals, even without you.”

He quickly wiped a single tear away from his cheek, not bothering to do the same to the rest that followed.

“Bye, Rei.”

And that was when he finally left and shut the door behind him.

All the memories blurred together in the heated tears that were filling his eyes, his knees buckled and broken sobs finally cracked out of his throat. All he wanted to do was leave as fast as he could.

 

It almost felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“... _Bye_...?” It hurt, really. It did.

Akira ran his hand slowly through his hair, gripping it tightly before he knocked his head against the closed door, feeling hopeless more than ever. He just wanted to scream out his heart and his frustration, wanted to take it all out on the damn wood. He wanted to beat it until there were holes or even until it was destroyed completely. If only he could.

But rage wasn’t going to make Aoi return, so he merely stayed that way for a long time. Even trying to flatten his harsh breathing was taking some of his energy and it took him a while until he managed to pull away. Heading to his room with quiet steps, he wasn’t glancing at his parents once.

Was it honestly better this way? It surely seemed like it was to his parents. That was what they wanted.

***

“I'm sorry, Akira. He doesn't want to see you.”

Mrs. Shiroyama smiled sadly as she held Aoi's books Reita had brought and given to her. “Thank you for bringing these.”

“Oh.”

The faint word betrayed Reita’s smile, hopeful eyes looking past the door but there was nobody. “You’re welcome. And it's okay, I understand.”

He stared at the ground for a moment, mulling over the jumbled thoughts in his head before he took a huge intake of deep breath, and confessed.

“Mrs. Shiroyama, I'm terribly sorry about what I did to Yuu. I never meant to hurt him. I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I’m studying abroad. I-if possible... I want to still stay in touch with him while I'm away.”

“Well, if that's your wish.”

The adult woman’s smile brightened a little because she could see Reita was serious and sincere about his words. “You’ll have to prove it then, that you want him back.”

Reita smiled hopefully. “Thanks, I definitely will.”

He turned around to take the first few steps down the pathway, heading for the exit before he spun on his heel to face her, voice determined and higher, warm puffs of his breath trailing up into the cold air.

“Mrs. Shiroyama, I really love your son! And I want him back! I'll really prove it to you and him! I will.”

_Like I've done so many times before._

“Yuu!” he exclaimed in hopes that maybe Yuu was listening from inside. “If you love me, meet me at the airport next Friday so I- We- “

He faltered a bit but found the courage to continue. “Please come meet me.”

He swallowed. “I love you, Yuu.”

Then he turned around once again to face the way out, instantly pressing the heel of his palm against his teary eye after taking off his glasses.

“Just… _please_.”

***

Kai watched Reita silently staring at the screen of his phone. The blond hadn’t been saying anything and it was worrying him. Kai leaned back in his seat, looking at his crowded surroundings and pushing Reita’s suitcase back and forth lazily.

“I’m _so_ gonna miss you, dude.”

Reita slowly looked up from his phone and smiled a little at his friend.

“I’ll miss you, too.”

He returned his clouded gaze to the phone, scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. He opened a chat room where his own rmessage had definitely been read but not replied to. Feeling disappointed and looking more miserable, he sighed deeply, dropping his head into his hands.

Kai stared at Reita for a long moment and sympathy was the only thing he was feeling for him. But he understood what Reita was putting most of his attention on now and he wasn’t going to blame him for it.

“Rei, I don’t think he- “

“Phew, here you go.”

Ruki appeared from behind, sat next to Kai and placed a cup of coffee in his hands. The brunet’s quick reaction that followed after was priceless.

“I- ouch!” Kai hissed, frantically changing his grip on the cup from the right hand to the lef.

“Fuck!”

Ruki smiled. “It’s hot.”

“You didn’t warn me!”

“ Hmm?” Ruki widened his eyes in a threatening way, the smile tightening. “Just who wanted a cup of hot coffee and asked me to get it for him and God knows how long I had to queue behind so many other people?”

The small blond scoffed under his breath, crossing his arms and legs before looking away with his chin tilted upwards. “You’re welcome.”

Reita laughed at both of them, though his laughter didn’t quite reach his eyes. Looking up, he saw his parents coming his way with their own suitcases behind them. They greeted them when they stopped right in front of him.

“Glad the traffic was smooth this time. Your mother’s been bickering about not having enough clothes. It’s like she’s never been on a trip before. Anyway, passport and everything checked?”

Reita nodded and tightened the grip on his phone a bit, managing a smile. “Yeap. All set and ready.”

***

It had beenlike this the entire day.

Aoi had been torn whether he _should_ go or not, knowing exactly at what time Reita's flight was leaving (he hadn’t googled or anything, nooo).  
And before he spent another moment of thinking too much, he did of course end up hurrying to get a taxi to drive him to the airport. Once he arrived twenty minutes later, it took him ages to find the right gate.

But he knew, at least, he had entered the right hall. His eyes wandered around, over the queues at the gates and all the people waiting to get their boarding passes.

The first person his glance fell upon was Kai, then Ruki who looked both shocked and saddened in return when they spotted the raven.

He swallowed hard and focused on inspecting the area behind them, breath hitching when he finally found him, recognizing Reita's back.  
When he moved, it felt like a force was suddenly pushing him from behind and made him run towards him while clutching the handle of his small black bag.

_Almost, almost, just a little’ bit more-_

But then he hesitated when there were only a few feet separating them, especially because he could feel Kai and Ruki were watching him, hoping so much for him to make the _move, quick—_

_Just what the hell was he waiting for?!_

And he did it without so much as wasting another thought, with his voice a little shaky and meek sounding as he exclaimed.

****_“Rei!”_ ** **

He stopped dead in his tracks. His parents stopped their chatting, too and looked at him questioningly, while all he did was staring at the ground.

And he nearly couldn't believe it was real until he turned around and felt his entire being locked up and air knocked out of his lungs at seeing-

“Aoi?” He whispered. At this very moment he really wanted to run towards Aoi and hug him so, _so_ bad but the displeased look on his parents' faces was preventing him from doing so and he clamped down the urge as he fisted his hands by his sides. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, a smile not leaving his face.

“Glad you came, I thought... you wouldn't.”

His father shook his head and left the two with his wife.

“Don't take too long.”

Aoi gulped as he slowly walked up to him to close the distance, still holding on to the handle of his bag, until they were face to face. He threw a quick glance at Reita's mother when she stared at him over her shoulder, but decided to ignore her anyway.

“I-I...” He licked his lip before biting down on it, staring into Reita's questioning face and unable to stop his eyes from tearing up. His mouth slowly started to tremble visibly.

“I... _couldn't_...”

He took a shaky breath as he reached out for the other with one hand, the first tears breaking free and falling.

“I couldn't let you leave just like that.”

He sobbed, then grabbed the fabric of Reita's shirt and yanked him close to embrace him around the torso tightly and hiding his face at his chest, he cried so hard that his shoulders were shaking.

“Aoi...”

Reita’s face reflected the conflict within himself when he felt the agonizing shake going through Aoi's frame. This was so difficult for the both of them. But they both had to be strong if they wanted to keep up with this relationship, and if they really loved one another.

They did.

Moving his arms, he enveloped them firmly around the other’s body, burying his face on top of the raven's head, kissing it once before he tilted the other's chin so he could kiss him properly.

“I'm sorry, I really am.” 

A painful smile spread across his lips at his own words, which he once again pressed to Aoi's, hands stroking the soft dark locks, caressing down to the sides of his throat and his waist, as if wanting to remember every little bit of Aoi's physique, all the fine curves and edges.

“Baby...” He kissed his lips and the tear streaked cheeks before he leaned his forehead against the raven's, holding him firmly against his body.

“We'll manage it, right? We still have internet.”

He laughed quietly, his beaten tone faint.

“God, I'm going to fucking miss you.”

His eyes caught the sight of his wrist watch, which he quickly took off and slid down to Aoi's wrist after taking his hand and squeezing it tightly, crossing their fingers together before clasping them. “Sorry, I could have given you a better gift.”

Aoi sniffed as he smiled weakly at their laced fingers, shaking his head.

“N-No, it's perfect. Thanks.”

He wiped at his tears, leaning his forehead against Reita's chest again to calm down.

Mrs. Suzuki watched them from afar, actually touched by the scene and thus stopped her husband from intervening, giving him a meaningful glance.

The raven looked up at Reita again after a while, lifting a hand to his cheek, and whispered.

“I'll miss you. You'll call me, okay? And we'll Skype. And text. _Every day_.”

He started crying again but shook his head, standing on his tiptoes and kissing Reita passionately, not ashamed that anybody else might watch them, even the blond wasn’t either, responding to the kiss just as his heart desired. And then they pulled back slowly, Aoi’s smile still slightly agonized seeming.

“I love you. I will always love you.”

“I love you and I will always love you too, Yuu.”

Reita forced himself to start laughing a little when he felt the tears were threatening to break, although he failed and slowly released Aoi’s hand, clasping it tightly once when he felt the overwhelming reluctance taking hold of him. He knew though, that it was time to go. It was only going to be harder for them otherwise so he withdrew his hand and started walking backwards, pullinh his suitcase along.

“Skype, text, call - every fucking single day.”

He nodded as he broke into a trembling smile, eyes already stinging slightly behind his glasses.

“And before I forget, I wanted to tell you that on our way to the hotel in the bus, I stole a kiss from you.”

A slightly cheerful laugh peeled from his throat at the memory, and he sniffed as he averted his flooded eyes before returning them to meet Aoi’s, holding them with his gaze.

“While you were asleep.”

He continued pacing backwards, tilting his head back to announce wholeheartedly and without shame.

“I just couldn’t resist it, Shiroyama Yuu! I couldn’t resist you!”

Biting his lip, he closed his eyes upon feeling one or two tears dampening his cheeks.

“I’ll come back. Please wait for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go! I wonder what will happen :-) (


	10. Chapter 10

Friday, November 20th   
  


Reita (9:43 AM, PDT)

_Hey._

(9:43 AM, PDT)

_It’s working, right? This is really your username, right? I’ve never used Skype before so…_

(9:44 AM, PDT)

_Oh, right. Good morning from here._

(9:46 AM, PDT)

_Reply to me whenever you can. First class is gonna start soon… in less than an hour for me._

(9:48 AM, PDT)

_You know, I still have problems with my speaking, my tongue twists each time I try to build sentences in my head. I’m just not used to it yet and it frustrates me sometimes. The people here are nice by the way, they understand how foreign people try their best to talk to them._

(10:27 AM, PDT)

_Gotta leave now! Love you!_   
  


Aoi (10:30 AM, JST)

_Heeey, I'm sorry, I just woke up. :( We need to find a way to work around the time zones! Are you there? I have no idea what time it is at your place.. I miss you already :(_

(12:05 PM, JST)

_I just had lunch with my mom and she said that, if I have no more money for your calls, I can use her phone!! I think she really likes you. What are you eating over there?_   
  


Reita (8:07 PM, PDT)

_I’ve just arrived from having dinner and spending some time at the library, sorry!  
Eh? Really? She likes me? Haha I only met and talked to her once, she’s a really nice person. I like her, too._

(8:08 PM, PDT)

_Hmm……_

(8:08 PM, PDT)

_Burgers. Haha. There’s some Chinese and Japanese restaurants nearby so sometimes I eat there with a few friends for lunch and dinner, but not frequently. I don’t eat fast food much. Also the school doesn’t encourage us to do it so..._

(8:09 PM, PDT)

_Oh, yeah._ _Forgot to introduce you to my roommate! He’s super cool ya know! He always sits next to me while I do revisions at the desk until bed time, he’s a very patient person and really nice. Here’s a photo of him btw_

 

**S. Akira has sent a photo.**

 

(8:10 PM, PDT)

_He’s cute, right? :-)_   
  


Aoi (04:15 AM, JST)

_Reitaaaaaaa_

_Are you still there?? Hey, I'm awake!_   
  


****Aoi has sent a photo.  
  
** **

_Can you switch your cam on?:3_   
  


Reita (12:18 PM, PDT)

_Heyyy …You’re awake??? What are you doing at this hour, young man?!_ _God, I can’t stop smiling looking at your photo, really makes me miss you more... I_ _mean, yeah, I can! Sure! Damn, even my hands are shaking right now. (lol)_   
  


****S. Akira has established a connection via webcam.  
  
** **

Aoi grinned broadly and grabbed his laptop, turning around onto his stomach as he was laying in bed. He switched the camera on as well, gasping and laughing instantly once he saw his boyfriend on the screen, waving again.

“Hi there. Oh wait-“ He reached for his nightstand and switched on a small lamp so the lighting was better. “Ah, that's better.”

Reita smiled and lowered his headphones to clamp around his neck, lifting one hand as he nodded.

“Hey there, young man. What are you up to?”  
  


He folded his arms over the top of his book and buried his chin in them, smiling wider against the fabric of his shirt.  
  


“I just said this just now, but really, I miss you.”

He pinched a few strands of hair and tugged at them lightly before he pulled his fingers away, blowing at the bleached locks.   
“I’m feeling so bored without you.”   
Reaching out, he took the black plushie cat, mouth curling sadly as he looked to the screen. “Even my roommate can’t fill the emptiness.”

Aoi snorted and laughed at so much sentimentalism.

“Oi, you know that I'm older, right?” He giggled and reached for a pillow as well to prop his chin on, smiling softly. “I know, I miss you, too. A lot. Kai's been asking me every day, I don't think he understands how time zones work.” He laughed a little.

Reita made a funny face. “So? You're a just few months older. Speaking of age, your birthday is in less than two months... what do you want from me as a birthday gift? I don't think I could give this guy away though.”

He simply tossed the plushie away, then looked back to the screen, an eyebrow lifted.

“ _Every_ day? Mmm maybe you should give him my Skype username... I miss that guy and his silly jokes, and it seems like he misses me too.”  
  


He chuckled a little and leaned back in his chair, one leg raised to place his foot over the edge. He was silent for moment, looking to the ground as if in deep thought, before he suddenly mumbled. “I'm sorry you have to be awake at this hour just to chat with me...”

Aoi let out a heavy sigh. 

“Hey, don't worry about me. It's the weekend, I often stay awake until the morning, reading or something.” A shrug. “And I don't really mind the time to be honest, as long as I can talk to you.”  
  


The raven-head placed his cheek on the pillow before him. “As for my birthday, I don't know. I just wish you could be here but I know you can't. Maybe just jewelry? A new belly piercing would be cool.”

He sighed heavily once again, expression faltering a little. “It's barely been two weeks but I miss you like crazy, Akira.”

“Shit. I miss you too.”

Reita tried to hide his smile but definitely failed. Lifting his eyes to the screen before he dropped his face into his hand, he groaned playfully.

“Ugh, god damn it, I just wanna hug and kiss you so bad right now.”

He raised his head with a simple laugh, took his phone from the desk and started typing in a note. “Okayyy, a new belly piercing. Hmm, I think I should ask around for a jewelry shop then. What about-“

A phone a call suddenly interrupted him, leaving him helplessly clueless for a moment before he looked apologetically at Aoi.

“Sorry, I gotta answer this...”  
  


He turned away, pressed the device to his ear and listened to the other end.

“Yeah, I have it. Not yet, still working on it, there's some concepts I've got a hard time to understand.”   
He shoved through his hair with a free hand, and flipped through a few pages of the open book before him.

“Library now...? Why not- ...okay, got it.”

After ending the call, Reita stood up from his chair, sighing as he started gathering a few things to stuff into his bag. “I'm really sorry, I have to go, we'll talk later?” He gave a hopeful smile.

Aoi wiped at a single tear quickly just before Reita could see it, or at least thought and hoped he didn't see it, then smiled and nodded a bit. 

“Fine fine, I'll go to sleep then. Finally.”   
  


He giggled lightly and pressed a kiss to his fingertips which he then pressed to the screen of his laptop. 

“I love you.”

Reita froze, stared at the screen for a moment before he leaned over slightly, touching his own fingertips against the screen to match with Aoi's before he withdrew his hand slowly, curled it into a fist and pressed it over where his heart was.

“I love you, too.”

He broke into a smile once again, slinging the straps of his bags over his shoulder before he reluctantly closed the skype chat room and turned off his computer.  
  


****S. Akira is not available.  
  
** **

Five days later   
  


Aoi (4:01 PM, JST)

_Babe?:) I know it's midnight over there but you're probably still studying, huh? :P_

(4:10 PM, JST)

_I miss you :(( afternoon classes are horrible without you._   
  


Reita (7:38 AM, PDT)

_Ah damn... no, sorry. I slept early at 10 something. I prefer sleeping early so I can wake up early to study and workout before first classes begin (lol) Also, I've started doing weight lifting recently at a gym, since there's one situated close to the campus._

(7:39 AM, PDT)

_I miss you, too… A lot. Right now, I wish you were here just to distract me from the current school project we were assigned to do and have been working on. You'd be the most devastatingly interesting distraction ever (aren't you always?). Horribl_

(7:39 AM, PDT)

_Shit. Pressed enter too early orz_

(7:40 AM, PDT)

_*Horrible? Do you mean because your textbooks are boring or because the sight of Kai sleeping and drooling over his books is horrible? xD Hehe, though I need to admit that, I really miss everything about Japan..._

(7:57 AM, PDT)

_I'm terribly sorry, though. I promised you to call, text and Skype every day... but school tends to occupy most of my time, since it's a fast track program, so a lot of things are jam packed in this semester. I'll try to make that promise happen next time._   
  


Aoi (6:40 AM, JST)

_Are you kidding, I went to bed just an hour before you replied t_t we always miss each other :( literally :'D_

(8:05AM, JST)

_I'm at school now :) isn't it like... 4pm at your place? Are you... At the library? Oi, but don't forget our Skype date tonight, okay? It'll be 8pm your time, so 12PM my time, my lunch break! I'll be there, Suzuki! :D_

(12:01 PM, JST)

_Reitaaaaaaa, I'm sorry I'm late, are you there?? Oiii!_

(12:02 PM, JST)

_Hey you know I only have a 30 minute break :(_

_Reitaaaaaaa_

(12:06 PM, JST)

_Akira?_

(12:13 PM, JST)

_You forgot, didn't you? You idiot._

(12:26 PM, JST)

_Okay then. I gotta go back. I love you._

  
Three days later  
  


Aoi (12:15 PM, JST)

_It's been three days, why are you not replying?_   
  


Reita (8:38 PM, PDT)

_Sorry, I haven't been online. I guess I need to tell you I won't be online again for the next few days. I miss you and I love you._

  
Two weeks later, December 12th  
  


Reita (9:43 AM, PDT)

_Hey, baby. I finally finished the first project 2 days ago. We had a celebration for it last night and the best and worst thing was it was snowing! And freezing! Still is!! (lol) I wish you were here with me so I could cuddle with you all the time, you're way better than the heater in my room. Ah, it's going to be Christmas soon... I wonder if it's snowing in Japan, too? Somehow I can't believe it's been more than a month I've been here, haha, and I think the way I speak has that.... funny American accent now, just a bit (lol) I hope I won't lose my Japanese tongue though._   
  


Aoi (1:45 AM, JST)

_Hey, you still there? I'm awake._

(1:46 AM, JST)

_You haven't been online for two entire weeks... I was worried :// you could have at least... You know._

(1:50 AM, JST)

_Anyway, apparently you're not there anymore. And I'm tired, and I have a test tomorrow :/ If you can't text me, at least let me know you're okay from time to time, alright?_

(1:53 AM, JST)

_I love you._   
  


Reita (10:09 PM, PDT)

_Sorry, I’m at a friend’s house, and I was out with several other friends for a movie. Since it’s holidays, I’m spending a few days here until Christmas. Anyway, I sent you Christmas and early birthday gifts. I seriously hope they won’t get lost in the mail and will arrive safely…_

(10:11 PM, PDT)

_Hope you’ll like them though! Love you too, baby. Good luck for the test! You can do it! I know you can! (^-^)_

(10:34 PM, PDT)

 _And don't forget to let me know when your gifts have arrived!_    
  


One week later   
_  
_

Aoi (4:01 PM, JST)

_Hey babe :) I'm so sorry I didn't get to reply any sooner... The test went well! I got a C+ which is... Okay? xD_

(4:03 PM, JST)

_Tbh, it's getting worse, I miss you more every day. I wish you could get some more free days so we could skype :/ I'm looking forward to your gifts so much_ _❤_ _I love you.  
_

Two days later   
  


Reita (8:09 AM, PDT)

_A C+ is quite good! I’m so proud of you! God damn iiiiitttt, I want to hug (and kiss) you so bad!_

(8:10 AM, PDT)

_Speaking about tests, I’ve one coming soon in Jan., was informed we’re gonna have a new group project as well… I think time is really not on our side, we’ll just have to keep fighting against it! (lol)_

(8:13 AM, PDT)

_I miss you too, sometimes I find myself browsing through photos of you that I have on my phone before falling asleep. Christmas is in 3 days, I think I should say “Merry Christmas” in advance just in case I forget…_

(8:15 AM, PDT)

_I seem to really have bad memory or something, which is bothering me... Aoi, I miss you so much baby, so, so much it really hurts me. I’m sorry if my upcoming replies are gonna be late more than ever. I love you, too._   
  


New Year's Day   
  


Aoi (01:45pm, JST)

_Happy new year, baby._ _❤_ _Thanks so much for the Christmas gifts, I loved them. And I love you._

January 23rd   
  


Aoi (10:01 AM, JST)

_Akira? Did you seriously just forget my birthday?_

(10:15 AM, JST)

_I knew you were gonna get me the belly piercing. I love it but it makes me sad because I'm thinking of you :(_

_I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FORGOT MY BIRTHDAY THOUGH._

Three days later   
  


Reita (11:08 AM, PDT)

_I’m sorry…I really am. I had a test and I paid too much attention to it…_

(11:09 AM, PDT)

_I… guess my phone did alarm me of your birthday but I must’ve turned it off without thinking…_

(11:10 AM, PDT)

_I love you._

(11:10 AM, PDT)

_And again, I’m sorry._

  
From that point on, everything got worse. The cramps, the sickness, the vomitting and the mood swings. Doctors helped him as best as they could but it wasn't his condition that made Aoi do what he did a week later. He was forcing himself to think about the future and admittedly, what he saw wasn't looking all that bright. For none of them. 

  
One week later   
  


Aoi (06:46 PM, JST)

_Akira? Are you there?_

(06:48 PM, JST)

_We need to talk._

(06:50 PM, JST)

_I... I can't do this anymore._   
  


Reita (6:07 AM, PDT)

_Wait, what do you mean...?_

(6:08 AM, PDT)

_I just woke up... baby, are you still there? What do you want to talk about? Should we video Skype now? I have time for that..._   
  


Aoi (10:10 PM, JST)

_Yes, I'm here. And no, I honestly look terrible._

(10:01 PM, JST)

_I just need to get this over with._   
  


Reita (6:01 AM, PDT)

_But ... why? I know I haven't talked to you enough lately… Is it because of that? Could you turn on your cam now, please? I really need to talk to you and not through chat..._   
  


****S. Akira has sent a video call request.  
** **

Aoi immediately clicked the red button and wiped his tears away before typing a reply with trembling hands.

(10:03 PM, JST)

_I said I can't! I don't want to talk to you right now, I just..._

(10:09pm)

_I'm breaking up with you._

“What...?” Reita barely whispered into the silence. The sight of the five-word-declaration splintered a part deep inside him, the one he thought he’d shared with Aoi. It was too unbelieveably shocking. He couldn’t believe any of it, it _had_ to be a lie.

Hands frozen over the keyboard, his eyes battled between looking at the screen and dropping down to where he found no strength left in his fingers, his pulse racing. He wanted to write a reply to that, to Aoi, he had to-  
  


Reita (6:11 AM, PDT)

_Why? I don’t?/_

He pressed the ‘backspace’ key and retyped.

(6:11 AM, PDT)

_Please, I know you don’t mean that /_

__  
  
He jammed the same key repeatedly.

Writing wasn’t going to change Aoi’s mind, was it? So he decided to call. Maybe hearing each other's voices after so long was going to do any good. 

Reita quickly searched for his phone, hoping Aoi wasn’t going to leave the chat room anytime soon, hoping desperately he was merely _joking_ all along.

He finally found it, dialled his boyfriend’s number without caring how much the call would be charged and briefly sent a reply through the chat room.  
  


Reita (6:13 AM, PDT)

_I’m calling you. Please pick it up._   
  


Until the call was finally picked up. Yet he didn’t hear the voice he’d been missing, not for the first few silent, heart-wrenching moments. His heart fell when it came through eventually, low, but not soft; distant and drowned with feelings.

Aoi had the phone pressed to his ear, hearing Akira's breathing which almost had its own questioning sound to it as he breathed hard himself, one hand clamped over his mouth and eyes closed tightly while tears fell from them.

“I'm so sorry, Akira... But I can't do this anymore.” He released a sob and lowered his head, shaking it although there was nobody to see. “I _can't_.”

“But why...? I need to know, there must be a reason...”  
  


Reita swallowed hard to prevent a sob from coming out after hearing Aoi's own. He chewed on his lip and just stared at the screen of his PC with heavy eyes.

“Do you still love me?” He clenched his hair tightly and released it with a shaky hand.

“I love you, I love you, Yuu. _I fucking love you_. God, _why_... I just...”

He tried to calm his constricted breathing as he started to speak incoherently.

“Tell me you're joking about breaking up with me. Tell me that you'll wait for me. I promised to come back home, Yuu, didn’t I??”

He panted slightly as he roughed his hand over his closed eyes, voice heartbreakingly begging. “Please tell me that you still love me...”  
  


Aoi took a deep but trembling inhale, free hand now pressed on his belly as he leaned forward, since he was sitting cross-legged on his bed, tears dropping onto the bed sheets. He gulped hard once again.

“I do. Akira, you know I do. But all this...” He sniffed, “All this waiting for messages or calls, all this... insecurity. About what you're doing, where you're going, with _whom_...” A broken sob. “I _can't_ take it anymore.”

“You…” Reita frowned slightly and straightened himself, not quite believing what he’d just heard and what he himself was about to say. “You… don’t trust me?”

“With _whom_?” He repeated, breathing with difficulty as he gripped and clenched his thigh, taking a moment to collect himself.  
  


“I, for once, have been struggling to adjust myself here against rejection and for acceptance. I _don’t_ fool around with people, I don’t have time to do that like…”

He trailed off, unable to complete his sentence and threw his glance out the window, feeling the tears making their way down his cheeks.

“Are you…”

He breathed in deeply.

“…seeing someone else?”  
  


And then he laughed quietly with a bitter voice.

“Someone…someone who’s _better_ than me? Someone who can always see you, go out with you, give you gifts, do _things_ with you?”

The next sentence turned into a disbelieving whisper.

“Someone who loves you like I do?”  
  


When his phone slipped off his grip, hit the floor with a loud thud and left the screen with permanent cracks, he didn’t make a move to pick it back up.

Instead, the blond was dropping his head into his hands, his frame shaking in order to hold back any emotion from tearing him more apart.

Aoi winced at the sudden cracking noise right at his ear.

“Akira??” He sobbed and tore at his hair. “Aki!”  
  


He sniffed and wiped at his tears. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry but I have to do this.”  
  


Was there going to be any kind of reaction or answer at all?

“Aki, _please_. Don't let me go like this.”  
  


But he did.

 

the end.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaah, it's done. Over. The end! 
> 
> Well not exactly. Fatal Charm itself is over but you don't really think we'd leave you hanging like THIS??   
> Don't fear you guys, there will be a sequel called "Fatal Past." Some maaaajor changes will have occurred in Aoi's and Reita's lives! If you're interested in seeing what, please keep an eye open on my profile :) 
> 
> And now: THANK YOU SO MUCH. To all readers and to everyone who's ever left a comment, whether it was here or on wattpad. We cherish and appreciate every kudos and every comment we get. Thank you guys so so so so much <3 
> 
> See you then! <3   
> Nana & Miya

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated <3


End file.
